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ELEMENTS
O F
ELOCUTION.
VOL. IL
THE LIBliART
DNIVERSITY OF CAUSF^mSkM
UM ANGBLB8
ELEMENTS
O F
ELOCUTION.
Being the Subftance of a
COURSE OF LECTURES
O N T H E
ART OF READING;
Delivered at feveral Colleges in the University of
OXFORD.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. ir.
BY J, WALKER,
Author of the Rhyming and Pronouncing Didionary, Sec. Sec.
Eft quodam prodire tenus ^— Hor.
LONDON,
Printed for the Author;
And Sold by T. Cadell, in the Stmnd ; T. Becket,
Corner of the Adelphi ; G.Robinson, PaternoHer'
Row J and J. Dodsley, Pall-Mall,
MDCCLXXXI.
mil
YllSe.
CONTENTS
O F T H E
SECOND VOLUME,
ACCENT — — Page i
Accent defined and explained 4
Englifli, Scotch, and Irifti Accent, how
they differ — — 14
Introdudion to the Theory of Emphafis 15
Theory of Emphatic Inflexion — 42
Pradical Syftem of Emphafis — 65
Single Emphafis — 67
Double Emphafis — — 88
Treble Emphafis — — 90
General Emphafis — — 102
Intermediate Member — — 107
Harmonic Inflexion — — 121
Harmony of Profe — — 141
Harmony of Profaic Inflexions — 152
Rules for reading Verfe — — 173
Modulation and Management of the Voice 226
G^flure — — — 260
The
^ c
vi CONTENTS.
The Paffions — Page 272
Tranquility — — 292
Chearfulnefs — — ibid.
Mirth — ■ — 293
Raillery , — — 296
Sneer — — 297
Joy -- — 298
Delight — — ^02
Love — — 303
Pity — — 308
Hope — — 312
Hatred, Averfion — •"- 313
Anger, Rage, Fury — — 318
Revenge — — 323
Reproach — — 325
Fear and Terror — «— 328
Sorrow — — ^S^
Remorfe — — 341
Defpair -— — 344
Surprife, Wonder, Amazement, Admi-
ration — — 347
Pride — — 351
Confidence, Courage, Boafting — 253
Perplexity, Irrefolution, Anxiety — 357
Vexation
c o
N T E N T
S.
vil
Vexation
—r
Page 361
Peevifhnefs
. «
...
362
Malice
—
—
364
Sufpicion, Jealoufy
—
—
365
Mod e fty. Sub m i (Eon
—
—
371
Shame
—
—
37*
Gravity
■ —
—
273
Enquiry
—
—
374
Attention
—
—
375
Teaching or In
flruair
'g
— •
ibid.
Arguing
—
—
378
Admonition
—
381
Authority
—
—
3S3
CommaiKling
«
—
384
Forbidding
—
3^5
Affirming
—
—,
386
Denyii-^
—
—
388
Differing
—
ibid.
Agreeing
—
39^
Judging
—
391
Reproving
—
392
Acquitting
—
—
393
Condemning
ibid.
Pardoning
—
—
395
Difmiffinp:
till c d N t Ei N T ^.
Difmiffing — ^ 39^
RefuCing ' — "^397
Giving, or granting — — 399
Gratitude — "^ 4°^
Curiofity -^ -^ 4^*
Promifing — — 4°*
Veneration -^ — 403
Refpea — — 404
Defire — "^ '^^'^^'
Commendation — — 4°5
Exhorting — — 4°^
Complaining — 4^7
Fatigue — •— 4»9
Sicknefs — — 410
Exercifes from Addifon, Shakfpeare, Pope,
&c. — — 412
Monody to the Memory of Garrick — 426
ELE-
( I ) -
ELEMENTS
OF
ELOCUTION.
ACCENT.
AS accent relates to the pronunciation
of words taken fmgly, it can have
little to do in an eflay on the pronunciation
of words infucceffion,as elocution, perhaps,
may not improperly be called ; for as
words juftly pronounced are merely the
materials for delivery, thefe muft all be
fuppofed to be in our own poiTeflion before
we can poffibly begin to arrange and dif-
play them to advantage. A perfon who
pronounces every word fmgly with the
greateft purity, may not be able to read
well i and another may convey the fenfe of
an author with great force and beauty,
Vol. II. B who
2 £ L E IV^ E N T' S O F
who does not always either pronounce the
Words juftly, or place the accent on the
proper fyllable. The only point, there-
fore, in which it will be neceflary to take
notice of accent in reading, is that where
the emphafis requires a tranfpofition of it :
this happens when two words which have
a famenefs in part of their formation, are
oppofed to each other in fenfe. Thus, if
I pronounce the vfordi?, jnjlice and injvjiice
as fmgle words, I naturally place the ac-
cent on the penultimate fyllable of both ;
but if I contrail; them, and fay — Neither
jiijlice nor injufike have any thing to do
with the prejent quejiion ; in this fentence
I naturally place the accent on the firfl
fyllable of ir.jujlicc^ in order the more
forcibly and clearly to d'iftinguifh it from
jnfiice. This tranfpofition of the accent,
Vv^hich is fo evidently dictated by the fenfe,
extends itfelf to all words which have a
famenefs of termination, though they may
noi
ELOCUTION* 3
«ot be dlredly oppofite in ienfe ; thus, if
I wanted more particularly to £how that
I meant one requifite of dramatic ftory ra-
ther than another, I fhould fay — In this
ffec'tes of compqfition^ -plaufibility is much
more ejfential than probability ; and in the
pronunciation of thefe words, I fhould
infallibly tranfpofe the accent of both,
from the third to the firjFl: fyllables ; in or-
der to contraft thofe parts of the words
which are diftinguifhed from each other
by the import of the fentence. As an in-
ftance of the neceffity of attending to this
emphatical accent, as it may be called,
we need only give a paflage from the
Speaator, N'^ 189.
In this cafe I may uie the faying of an emi-
nent wit, who upon fome great men's preffing
him to forgive his daughter who had m.arried
againft his confent, told them he could refufe
nothing to their inftances, but that he would
have them remember there was a difference be-
tween giving andy£?rgiving.
B 2 Th^
4 ELEMENTS OF
In this example, we find the whole fenfe
of the pafTage depends on placing the ac-
cent on the firft fyllable oi forgiving, in
order to contrail it more ftrongly with
giving, to which it is oppofed ; as with-
out this tranfpofition of accent, the oppo-
fition, on which the fentiment turns, would
be loft.
Another inftance will more fully illuf-
trate the neceffity of attending to this em-
phatical accent.
The prince for the public good has a fovc-
rci^T^n property in every private perfon's eilate;
iind, confcqnently, his riches muft /^^creaic or
^fcrcafe, in proportion to the number and riches
of his iubjcfts. Spcct, N° 200.
The words iucreafe and decreafe have, in
this example, the accent on the firft fyl-
lable of each, as ii; is there the contraft in
in the fcnfe lies.
What has already been faid of accent,
as it relates to the art of reading, is, per-
ELOCUTION. 5
haps, more than fufficient ; but fo much
has been faid about the nature of this ac-
cent, both in the ancient and modern lan-
guages^ that it may not be improper to
offer a few thoughts on the fubjedt here.
Some authors confidently aflert, that the
accented fyllable is pronounced in a higher
tone than the reft, and others infift that it
is not pronounced higher but louder only.
Whatever may have been the nature of
accent in the learned languages, certain it
is, that the accented fyllable in our own,
is always louder than the reft, and if we
attend ever fo little to the two kinds of
inflexion with which every accented word
in a fentence is pronounced, we fhall foon
fee that the accented fyllable is either
higher or lower than the reft, according to
the inflexion which it adopts.
Thus in this fentence, Plate III. N° 8.
Sooner or later viitue mud meet with a re-
war d^ .
B 3 Here
6 ELEMENTS OF
Here I fay the laft fyll^ble ^ard kas the
falling inflexion, and if we pronounce
the word without emphafie, and merely as
if we were concluding the fubje<3:, this
fyllable will be pronounced louder and
lower than the fyllable immediately pre-
eeeding 5 but if we give emphafis to this
fyllable, by oppofing it to fomething elfe,
we fhall find it pronounced both higher
and louder than the preceding fyll^bles,.
Thus in tlije following fcnte'nce, Plate III,
Virtue will meet with a rczvard^, and not pu-
nilhrnent-^.
ilere the word reward has the fame in-
flexion as in the fv'rmer initance, and the
word puniJJjment ends with the riling in-
flexion ; but the fyllable luard is percepti-
bly higher as well as louder than the fylr
lablc tliat precedes it. Again : if we give
this word the rifmg inilexion, we fhall
fijid in this cafe, that without emphafis
the
«: i;. o c u T I o N. 7
the ^"Ccented fyilabk war/:/ is pronounced
both louder and higher than the precede
ing fyllables. Thus N'^ II.
If virtue muft have a reward -^y it is our in-
tereft to be virtuous.
Thefe obfervations compare the accented
fyUable "vyith the preceding fyllables only,
it wilj in the next place be necefTary to
compare it with thofe that follow : for
which purpofe let us obferve the pronun-
ciation of this fentence, N*^ III.
So that no man living can be faid to be perfect^ .
If in this example we pronounce the
word perfecl without any emphafis, and
merely as if we were concluding a dif-
courfe, we fhall find the accented fyllable
adopting the falling inflexion, and pro-
nounced fomewhat higher and louder than
the laft. The fame inflexion of voice
upon the accented fyllable, and the higher
tone of this fyllable than the laft, will ap-
pear much more perceptibly by pronounc-
B 4 ing
8 ELEMENTS OF
ing this word in the following fentence,
N'^ IV,
We ought to avoid blame, though we can-
not beperfe^^.
Here, I fay, if we give the word per-*
feB the falling inflexion, and pronounce
it with empliafis, we fhall find the firft
fyllable very perceptibly higher and louder
than the laft ; on the contrary, if we give
the word pcrfeB the rifing inflexion, we
fliall find the accented fyllable louder than
the laft, though not fo high, for the laft
fyllable perceptibly Hides into a higher
tone. Thus N° V.
If vvc wiih to be Dcrfcct'', we muft imitate
God.
Thefe obfervations will, perhaps, be ftill
better conceived, by watching our pronun-
ciation of a word where the accent is
nearly in the middle. Thus in this paf-
fjge of Shakefpeare, N^ Vl,
Whav
ELOCUTION. 9
What earthly name to interrog^atories,
Shall tafk the free breath of a facred king >
King John,
■ In this paflage, I fay, the fyllable rog
has the rifing inflexion, and is pronounced
perceptibly louder and higher than the
two firft, and louder and lower than the
three laft : but if we give this fyllable the
falling inflexion, as in this fentence,N°VIL
He is neither moved by intreaties nor inter-
rog^atories.
Here, I fay, the fyllable rog if pro-
nounced with the leaft degree of emphafis,
16 both louder and higher than either the
preceding or fubfequent fyllables.
From thefe obfervations this general
conclufion may be drawn ; whatever
INFLECTION IS ADOPTED, THE ACCENT^
ED SYLLABLE IS ALWAYS LOUDER
THAN THE REST ; BUT IF THE ACCENT
IS PRONOUNCED WITH THE RISING IN-
|NF;.EXIONj the ACCENTED SYLLABLE
J8
IP- ELEM^ENTS OF
IS HIGHER THAN THE PRECEDING, AND
LOWER THAN THE SUCCEEDING SYLLA-
BLE; AND IF THE ACCENT HAS THE
FALLING INFLEXION, THE ACCENTED
SELLABLE IS PRONOUNCED HIGHEK-
THAN AN-y OTHER SYLLABLE, Ei]rHER
p.Rf:cEDiNG OR succf EDiNG. The only
exception to this is, th.e fentence, N^ VIIL
where the ftccent is on the lail fy liable of
a word which has no emphafis, and is pro-
nounced as at the conclulion of a difcourfe.
Sooner or later virtue mud meet with its re-
ward^ .
Here the laft fyllable, though pronounce
ed louder thjin the firft is evidently pro^
jaounced a degree lower.
It may not, perhaps, be improper to
Jake notice of a ufage of the word accent,
which, though feemingly inaccurate, will
be found upon examination, to be a juft
:ippUcation of the word. It is the cuftom,'
jfiot only of England, but of other parts
of
E |y O C U T I O N. Mr
of the worjdj which are feats pf empire,
to call thofe modes of pfonuneiation ijfed
in parts dillant from the capital, by the
name of accents. Thus we fay, a native
pf Ireland fpeaks Englifh with the Iriih,
and. a native of Scotland with the Scotch
accent ; though both thefe fpeakers pro-
nounce every word with the accent on the
very fame fyllable as the Englifh. Why
then do we fay, they fpeak with a differ-
ent accent ? The reafon is, that fpeaking
founds have never been fufhciently ana-
lyzed, to enable us to difcover their com-
ponent parts, which makes us take up
with indefinite and unfpecific terms, in-
ftead of fuch as are precife and appropriated
to their.objed:. This has greatly obfcured
the notion of accent, and led feme * to fup~
pofe, that accent in our language is no
more than a force upon a certain fyllable
of a word which diftingui(hes it from the
* Sheridan's Leftures, 4to. p. 41.
reflj
12 ELEMENTS OF
reft ; but that this accent has no reference
to inflexions of voice, and for that reafon
the word is ufed by us in the Angular
number, f Others have imagined^ that
we have two accents, the grave and acute ;
but in the definition of thefe, they feem
only to mean that the latter has a -greater
degree of force than the former. Thus
for want of the fimple diftindion of the
riiing and falling flide of the voice, with
which every accented fyllable muft necef-
farily be pronounced, the nature of our
own accent feems as obfcure, and as little
underftoo4, as thofe of the Greeks and
Romans ; and it is to this obfcurity we owe
the fuppofed impropriety of calling a dia-
led by the name of accent : for though
there are other differences in the Scotch
and Iriili pronunciation of Englifh befides
this, it is to the difference of accent that
the chief diverfity is owing : if we under-
-{- Elihy on the Harmony of Language. Rohfon, 177 i^.
iland
ELOCUTION. 13
fland accent only, as force or ftrefs, there
is, indeed, the flighteft difference imagin-
able ; fmce in both thefe kingdoms the
ftrefs is (to the exception of very few
words indeed,) laid on the fame fyllable as
in England : and, for this reafon, the laws
of poetry are exadly the fame in all : but
if we divide accent into grave and acute,
and call the acute the ftrefs with the riling
inflexion, and the grave the ftrefs with the
falling inflexion, we ftiall then fee the pro-
priety of faying, fuch a one fpeaks with
the Irifti or Scotch accent ; for though the
Irifti place the ftrefs precifely on the fame
fyllable as the Englifli, it is often with a
diff"erent inflexion ; and the fame may be
faid of the Scotch. Thus the Scotch pro-
nounce the far greater part of their words
with the acute accent, or rifmg inflexion,
and the Irlfli as conftantly make ufe of the
grave accent, or falling inflexion, while
the Englifli obferve pretty nearly a
due
J4 i^Ltutnrs OF
due mixtBife of each. If we pronounce
a feiitence in tliefe three different modes,
it may, perhaps, fuggefk to the ear the
truth of the foregoing obfervations.
SCOTCH.
Ex^'ercife rrrrd tem/pcrance flrerrgt^-^en the
IRISH.
Ex^ercife and rem'^^pGrance ilrength^en the
conftitti'^^tion.
ENGLISH.
Ex'^ercife and tem^perance ilrength'^en the
conftitu^tion.
If thefe obfervations are juft, the Irifli
ought to habituate themfelves to a more
frequent ufe of the riling inflexion, and
the Scotch to the falling, in order to ac-
quire what is not (from this view of the
fubje(3:) improjierly called the Engliih ^-
cent.
EMPHA^
£ 1 O C tJ T I O N, 15
EMPHASIS.
IntroduSlion to the theory of emphafism
T7MphafiS, in the mofi: ufual fenfe of the
word, is that ftrefs with which certain
Words are pronounced, fo as to be diftin-
guifhed from the reft of the fentence.
Among the number of words we make
ufe of in difcourfe, there will always be
fome which are more neceffary to be un-
derftood than others ; thofe things with
which we fuppofe our hearers to be pre-
acquainted, we exprefs by fuch a fubor-
dination of ftrefs as is fuitable to the fmall
importance of things already underftood ;
while thofe of which our hearers are, ei-
ther not fully informed, or which they
might poflibly rriifconceive, are enforced
with fuch an increafe of ftrefs as makes it
impoflible for the hearer to overlook or
miftake them. Thus, as in a pidure, the
more
l6 ELEMENTS OF
more eflfential parts of a fentence are ralfeci,
as it were, from the level of fpeaking, and
the lefs neceffary arc, by this means, funk
into a comparative obfcurity.
From this general idea of emphalis, it
v<rill readily appear of how much confe-
quence it is to readers and fpeakers not to
be miftaken in it ; the neceffity of diflin-
guiihing the emphatical words from the
reft, has made v/riters on this fubjecl ex-
tremely folicitous to give fuch rules for
placing the emphafis, as may, in fome
meafure, facilitate this diflicult part of elo-
cution : but few have gone farther than
to tell us, that we muft place the emphafis
on that word in reading, whicli we Ihould
make emphatical in fpeaking ; and though
the importance of emphafis is infifted on
with the utmoft force and elegance of lan-
guage, no alhftance is given us to deter-
mine v/hich is the emphatic word where
feveral appear equally emphatical, nor
have
£ L o c tr f I 0 N. 17
have we any rule to diflimguKh betweisa
thofe words which have a greater, and thofe
which have- a lefler degree of ftrefs ; the
fenfe of the author is the fole diredion
"We are referred to, and all is left to the-
tafle^ and \;nd^,rftanding; of the reader.
One ^' writer, indeed, the author of the
Philofophical .^ pnq^uiry into the , Delivery
of T?vritten J^anguage, .has given us a dif-
tindtion of emphafis into two . kinds,
which has thrown great light upon this
abftrufe fubjeiSt. This gentleman diftin-
guifhes the ftrefs into emphafis of force,
and emphafis of fenfe. " Emphafis of
" force," he tells us, " is that ftrefs we
*' lay on alm.ofl every fignificant word ;
" emphafis of fenfe, is that ftrefs we lay
'' on one or two particular words, which
'' diftinguifhes them from all the reft in
** the fentence. The former ftrefs," he
obferves, ** is variable, according to the
" conception and tafte of the reader, and
Vol. II. G " can-
l8 ELEMENTS OF
" cannot be reduced to any certain rule :
" the latter," he fays, " is determined by
'* the fenfe of the author, and is always
" fixed and invariable." This diftindion,
it muft be owned, is, in general, a very
juft one ; and a want of attending to it,
has occafioned great confufion in this fub-
jedl, even in our beft writers ; they per-
ceived, that befides thofe words which
were ftrongly emphatical, there were many
others that had a ftrefs greatly fuperior to
the particles and lefs fignificant words, and
thefe they jumbled together under the ge-
neral term emphafis. Thus when the em-
phatical words were to be marked by be-
ing printed in a different charad:er, we
find in feveral of the modern produdllons
on reading, that fomctimes more than half
of the words are printed in Italics, and
confidered as equally emphatical. Tlie
wrong tendency of fuch a praiftice is fuf-
ficlently obvious, but its origin was never
pointed
E L O C U T I O ^k I^
pointed out till the publication of the ef-
fay above mentioned. This muft be al^
lowed to have thrown confiderable light
on the fubjed, and it is by the affiftance
which this author has given, that I fhall
endeavour to pufh my enquiries into em-
phafis ftill farther than he has done : I
Ihall not only eftablifli the diftindion he
has laid down, but attempt to draw the
line between thefe two kinds of emphaiis,
fo as to mark more precifely the bounda-
ries of each. To this diftindion of em-
phafis, I Ihall add another : I fhall make
a diftindion of each into two kinds, ac-
cording to the inflexion of voice they
adopt ; which, though of the utmoft im-
portance in conveying a juft idea of em-
phafis, has never been noticed by any of
our writers on the fubjed. This diftinc-
tion of emphafis arifes naturally from the
obfervations already laid down, on therifmg
and falling inflexion ; v*'e have feen the
C 2 im-
26 BLE M E N T S OF
importance of attending to thefe two in-
flexions in tlie feverai parts, and ^t tlie
end of a fentence ; and it is prefumed, tlie
utility of attending to the fame inflexions,
when applied to empliaffs, will dppeai' ti6
lefs evident aVid unqueftionable.
But before we enter into this diftinftidri
of emphatic inflexion, it may not be im-
proper to fliow more precifely the diftinc-
tion of emphafis, into that which arifes
from the peculiar fenfe of one or twd
words in a fentence, and that which arifdd
from the greater importance of the nouti^^
verbs, and other fignificant words, than*
of Gonnedives and particles. And firft;
let us examine feme paflages where only
the latter kind of emphafis is found ; thi^
emphaiis, if it m.ay be fo called, takes
place on alinofl; every v/crd in a fentence,
but the articles, prepohtions, and fmallei'
parts of fpeeeh ; and by pronouncing thefe
feebly, Vv'e give a force to the other words,
that
ELOCUTION. 21
that is commonly, but improperly flyled
emphafis.
Thus in pronouncing the following fen^
tence in the Spectator:
Gratian very often recommends the fine tafte
as the utmoft perfedtion of an accomplifhed
man. Spe^faior, N^ 409.
We may perceive a very evident differ-
ence in the force with which thefe words
jire pronounced ; the article t/ie^ the con-
junction and particle as the, and the pre-
pofition and article of aj?, are very diftin-
guilhable from the reft of the words by a
lefs forcible pronunciation ; and this lefs
forcible pronunciation on the fmaller
words, raifes the others to fome degree of
emphaiis. If we pronounce the next fen-
tence properly, we fhall find feveral other
words fmk into an obfcurity of the fame
kind, and by their means a comparative
degree of force thrown on the reft of the
words.
C 3 As
ja ELEMENTS OF
As this word arifes very often in converra-.
tlon, I fhall endeavour to give fome account
of it ; and to lay down rules how we may
know whether we are pofTefTed of it ; and how
we may acquire that fine tafte in writing which
is fo much talked pf among the polite world.
Ibid.
In this fentence we find the prepofitions,
conjundions, and pronoun // pronounced
with the fame degree of feeblenefs as in
the laft inftance ; and befides thefe, we
find the words, 1 pall^ we may^ we arcy
and which is^ pronounced much more
feebly than the reft of the words ; this
can be owing to nothing but the nature of
the words themfelves^ which, though in-
dicating per/on^ promife^ power ^ and exift^
ence^ exhibit none of thefe particulars em-
phatically ; that is, thefe Words imply
only fuch general clrcumftances as the ob-
je^s are compnonly fuppofed to be accom-
panied with, and therefore are anticipated
ox rrcfuppofcd by the hearer : for what-
cvcv
ELOCUTION. 23
ever the hearer is fuppofed to he acquaint-
ed with, is not the objedt of communica-
tion : the perfon fpeaking is under no ne-
ceflity of telling his auditors that he in
particular fhall do any thing unlefs he
means to diftinguifh himfelf from fome
other fpeaker ; for that he fpeaks is very
well underftood by every one vv^ho hears
him ; and for this reafon, whatever has
been once mentioned, is generally pro-
nounced afterwards with lefs force than
at firft, as fuppofed to be already fufBci-
ently known.
I fhall offer another inftance to fhow
that there is a confiderable difference in
the ftrefs we lay on different words in a
fentenee, and then proceed to an examin-
ation of that flrefs which may be properly
ftyled emphatical. Thus if we repeat the
following fentenee,
JExercife and temperance ftrengthen the con-
ftitution.
C 4 Wfi
fi4 E Lt: M E N T S OT
We find the particles and aiid the^ pro-
hdunce^ mtcTi more feebly than the other
words, and yet ^thefe other words cannot
be properly called emphatical : for "the
ftrefs that is feiti on them is no more "than
what is ntceflary to convey' diftindly the
meaning of each wbrd ; but if an empha-
tical word is thrown into this fentence, we
fhall foon perceive a ftrlk'in| difference
between thefe- words aiid't^^' emphatical
one; thuSj'if we wer'etd'fafj^'^"^ '
Excrcife'an'd^tei-npcrance'ftrcihgthen even an
indiilercnc conftltution.
Here we flia'll find the word mdifferent
pronounced much more forcibly than the
words exerclje^ te?nperaj2ce^ ^.n^ftrengthen,
as thefe words are more forcibly pronounc-
ed than the particles and and the^ and even
than tire word" coiiftitution : fcfr 4s this
word comes immediately after the empha-
tic word indifferent^ and is, by the very
impcrt of the cmphafm, in Tome meafure
under-.
ELOCUTION. 25
underftood, it fiiiks into the fame degree
of obfcurity with the particles, and cannot
'be raifed from this dbfcurity without di-
minifhing the ifofce of the emphatic word
itfetf; - . ■
This brings us to a threefold diftinction
'of words with regard to the force with
which they are pronounced ; namely, the
•conjunctions, particles, and words under-
ftood, which are obfcarely and feebly pro-
nounced; thefubftantives, verbs, and more
fignificant words, which are firmly and
diftindly pronounced ; and the emphatical
word, whicTi is forcibly pronounced: it is
the laft of thefe only which can be pro-
perly ftyled emphafis, and it is to a difco-
very of the nature and caufe of this em-
phafis, that all our attention ought to be
directed.
And firft we may obferve, that if thefe
diftinc^lions are juft, the common defini-
tion of eiBphafis is very faulty. Empha-
fis
26 ELEMENTS OF
fis is faid to be a ftrefs laid on one or more
words to diftinguifh them from others :
but this definition, as we have juft feen,
makes almoft every word in a fentence
emphatical, and, at the fame time, con-
founds the diftindion between words which
have force from a peculiarity of meaning,
and thofe which have force from having
only more meaning than the particles.
Here then we mull endeavour to invefti-
gate a jufter definition ; fuch a one as will
enable us to diftinguifh words which are
really emphatical, from thofe which are
only pronounced with common force : for,
as the ingenious author above mentioned
has obferved, thefc latter words may fome-
times be forcibly and fometimes feebly
pronounced, without any importance to
the fenfe ; but the fc)rraer, that is, fuclj
yvords as are truly emphatical, muft al-
ways have their juft degree of force and
«:nergy, or the fenfe will be manifeftly iur-
jured :
E t O C U T I O N, 27
jured : this emphafis, therefore, ought to
be the firft objed of enquiry.
The principal circumftance that diftin-
guifhes emphatical words from others,
feems to be a meaning which points out,
or diftinguiflies, fomething as diftind: or
oppofite to fome other thing. When this
oppofjtion is e^sprpfled in words, it forms
an antithefis, the oppofite parts of which
are always emphatical. Thus in the fol-
lowing couplet from Pope ;
'Tis hard to fay, if greater want of ikill
Appear in writing or in judging ill.
The words writing and judging are op-
pofed to each other, and are therefore the
emphatical words ; where we may like-
wife obferve, that the disjunctive <?r, by
which the antithefis is connedled, means
one of the things exclulively of the other ;
the fame may be obferved in another coup-
Jet from the fame author ; where one
branch
aS E L £ M','E NTS OF
Vranch K3dF the antithefiB h nqt.^^^seffbd^
but underftoo^.,:. •)r; , i , .i,'! -r!'
tjet wealtli and j)lace, if poflible wkh'grace.
If not by atiy "mdaris get wealth and 'place.
Here it appear* ^idently, that , the words
anjy means, which are the moftiemphatioal,
arediredly oppofed' to the meajis under-
ilood by the word^r^^^, and the laft line
is perfedly equivalent to this. "If not
" by thefe means, by afty other means,
*' get wealth and place." ■
In thefe inftances, the oppofition fug-
geiled by the emphatical word is evident
at firft fight ; in other cafes, perhaps, the
antithefis is not quite fo obvious, but if
an emphafis can be laid on any word, we
may be affured fhat word is in antithefis
with fome meaning agreeable to the ge-
neral fenfe of the paflage.
. To illuftrate this, let us pronounce a
line of .iV'Iarcusdn Cato, where expreffing
hivS
ELOCUTION. 2^
his indignation at the behaviour of Csefar,
he fays :
' Fm tortuf'd ev'n to madnefs, when I think
Of the proud vidtor— —
And we ihall find the greateft ftrefs fall
naturally on that word, which feen>s op-
pofed to fome common or general mean-
ing ; for the young hero does not fay in
the common and unemphatic fenfe of the
word think^ that he is tortured even to
madnefs when thinks on C^efar ; but in
the ftrong and emphatic fenfe of this word ;
which impUes, not only " when I hear or
'' difcourfe of him, but even when I think
" of him I am tortured even to madnefs."
As the word /te/^ therefore, rifes above
the common level of fignification, it. is
■pronounced above the common level of
found J and as this fignification is Oppofed
to a fignification lefs forcible, the word
may be properly faid to be emphatical.
This
3© ELEMENTS OF'
This more than ordinary meaning, oif
a meaning oppofed to fome other mean^
ing, feems to be the principal fource of
emphafis ; for if, as in the laft inftance,
we find the words will bear this oppo-
iition to their common fignification, we
may be fure they are emphatical ; this
will be ftill more evident from another
example :
By the faculty of a lively and pidturefquc
imagination, a man in a dungeon is capable
of entertaining bimfeif with fcencs and land-
ikips, more beautiful than any that can be
found in the whole compafs of nature.
SpeBatory N''4ir.
If we read this paflage without that em-
phafis which the word dungeon requires,
we enervate the meaning, and fcarcely
give the fenfe of the author ; for the im-
port plainly is, that a lively imagination,
not merely abfent from beautiful fcenes,
but even in a dungeon, can form fcenes
more beautiful than any in nature.
ELOCUTION. 31
This plenitude of meaning in a parti-
cular word, is not always fo prominent as
to be difcernible by a common reader,
but wherever it really exifts, the general
meaning of the author is greatly enforced
by emphatically pointing it out. — Let us'
take an example :
Steele begins one of his letters in the
Spedator by the following fentence ;
I have very often lamented, and hinted my
forrow in feveral fpecnlations, that the art of
painting is fo little made ufe of, to the im-
provement of our manners. SpeEi, N<^ 226.
As in this fentence, which Is the firft
in the eflay, it is taken from, we find a
new and important object introduced, fo
if we do not pronounce it with emphafis,
it will not be fufficiently noticed. The
word pamting^ as it ftands in this fentence,
may very well be fuppofed to be in con-
traft with other arts, which, though often
ufed for the improvement ofjn^nners, are,
per-
^2 D L£M E N T'S V f :
perhaps, riotfei eoj:iducive'tio that end, d§
this particular art : this antithefia is per-
fectly underftood if the y^m^-painiing is
naade emphatical, but entirely loft if it
is pronounced feebly : nay, Aiding it overr
without emphafis, will fuppofe the hearer'
pre-acquainted with the fubjed: to be treat-
ed, contrary to what is realliy the cafe ;
this will be ftill more apparent by pro-
nouncing- it both ways ; firit, without the
proper ftrefs on the word paintings and
afterwards with it.
I have very often lamcntcuj zwi}. hinted ni)'
forrow in fsvernl lpccul:iLi()n;^^, that th« art of
painting is lb little made ufe ot to the ioiprove-
nient! of ou;' nirinncrs.
i have very o;tcd lamented, and hinted my
forrow in fevcial fpeculations, that the art of
painting is fo little made ufe of to the improve-
ment of our manners.
In thefe inPLances we iind every empha-*
tical word placed in oppoildon as it were?
to-
£ L 6 C tJ T t O Nt 35
to fome meaning which it feems to ex-
clude.
Wherever the contrariety or oppofition
is exprefled, we are at no lofs for the em-
phatical words ; the greateft difficulty in
reading, lies in a difcovery of thofe words
which are in oppofition to fomething not
exprefled, but underftood ; and the beft
method to find the emphafis in thefe fen-
tences, is to take the word we fuppofe to
be emphatical, and try whether it will
admit of thofe words being fupplied,
which an emphafis on it w^ould fuggeft :
if when thefe words are fupplied, we find
them not only agreeable to the meaning-
of the writer, but an improvement of his
meaning, wc may pronounce the w^ord
emphatical ; but if thefe words we fupply,
are not agreeable to the meaning of the
words exprefled, or elfe give them an af-
feded and fanciful meaning, w^e ought by
no means to lay the emphafis upon them :
Vol, II. D Let
34 ELEMENTS OF
Let us take an example of both thefe kinds
of emphails.
Mr. Addifon, in one of his Spectators,
fhowing the advantages of good tafte ; fay&j
A man of a polite imagination is let into a
great many pleafnres that the vulgar are not
capable of receiving ; he can conveiie with a
pidlure, and find an agreeable companion in a
itatue. Speci.N'' ^11.
We fhall find but few readers lay any
confiderable ftrefs upon the word piBure^
in this fentence ; but if .we examine it by
the former rule, we fhall find a ftrefs upon
this word a confiderable embellifliment to
the thought ; for it hints to the mind that
a polite imagination does not only find
pleafi-ire in converfing with thofe objects .
whicii give pleafure to all, but with thofe
which give pleafure to fuch only as can
convcrfe with them ; here then the em-
}->]iafis on the v;ord piaurcy is not only an
;idvantage to the thouglit, but in fome
E L O C U T 1 ON* 3^
ineafure neceflary to it. This will appear
ftill more evidently by reading the paffage
both ways, as in the laft example.
But if cmphafis does not improve, it al-
ways vitiates the fenfe ; and, therefore,
fhould be always avoided where the ufe of
it is not evident : this will appear by plac-
ing an emphafis on a word in a fentence
which does not require it.
I have feveral letters by me from people of
good fenfe, who lament the depravity or po-^
verty of tafte the town is fallen into with rela-
tion to plays and public fpedlacles.
Spe^aior, N° 208.
NovvT if we lay a confiderable degree of
emphafis upon the words good fenfe it will
ilrongly fuggeft that the people here men-
tioned are not common or ordinary people^
which, though not oppofite to the mean-
ing of the writer, does not feem neceffary
either to the completion or embellifliment
of it ; for as particularly marking thefe
D 2 peo-
56 ELEMENTS OF
people out as perfons of good fenfe, feems
to obviate an objedion that they might
pofTibly be fools, and as it would not be
very wife to fuppofe this objedion, it
would fhow as little wifdom to endeavour
to preclude it by a more than ordinary
flrefs ; the plain words of the author,
therefore, without any emphafis on them,
fufficiently {how his meaning.
From thefe obfervations, the following
definition of emphafis feems naturally to
arife. Em p h a s i s , when applied to parti-
cular words, is that stress we lay
ON WORDS WHICH ARE IN CONTRADI-
STINCTION TO OTHER WORDS EITHER
EXPRESSED OR UNDERSTOOD: and hencc
w^ill follow this general rule. AViierever
THERE IS CONTRADISTINCTION IN THE
SENSE OF The WORDS, THERE OUGHT
TO BE EMPHASIS IN THE PRONUNCIA-
TION OF THEM ; the converfc of this bc-
\nr:; equally true, Wfieuever we place
E M -
ELOCUTION. 37
EMPHASIS WE SUGGEST THE IDEA OF
CONTRADISTINCTION.
Emphafis thus inveftigated and defined,
we may obferve, that all words are pro-
nounced either with emphatic force, ac-
cented force, or unaccented force ; this laft
kind of force we may call by the name of
feeblenefs ; or, in other words, where the
words are in contradiftindion to other
words, or to fome fenfe implied, we may
call them emphatic ; where they do not
denote contradiftin£l:ion and yet are more
important than the particles, we may call
them accented, and the particles and lefTer
words we may call unaccented or feeble |
for if we obferve the pronunciation of
thefe latter words, we fhall find they have
exactly the fame feeblenefs as the unac-
cented fyllables of a word whofe accented
•fyllable is pronounced with fome (aegree
■of force: we fhall fee likewife/that aft
•accented word, which has a degree of
P 3 forccj
38 ELEMENTS OF
force, when compared with unaccented
words ; when it is joined with an empha-
tic one, and pronounced immediately be-
fore or after it, finks into a feeblenefs equal
to the unaccented words ; and that the
unaccented fyllables, even of an emphatic
word, are pronounced with as much lefs
force than the accented fyllable, as the un-
accented fyllables of an accented word,
are lefs forcible than the accented fyllable of
an unemphatic word. Thefe obfervations
are exemplified in the pronunciation of
the following fentences.
Exercife and temperance flrengthen the
conftirution.
E^xercife and temperance ftrengthen even
an indifferent conftltulion.
In the firft of thefe fentences the parti-
cles atid and the are pronounced like un-
?,ccented fyllables of temperance and con^
itjtution : in the lafl: fentcnce the word
(gnjlitution is pronounced with fne fame
feeble*.
ELOCUTION. 39
feeblenefs as the particles and and the ;
and the two laft fyllables of the emphatic
word indifferent^ are as much below the
fecond fyllable in force, as the particles
and unaccented fyllables [_are below thofe
which have an accent.
By this threefold diftlndion we are en-
abled to make very confiderable advances
in the methods of conveying inftrud:ion
in reading ; we cannot only mark the
emphatic words as ufual, but diftinguiih
them from the accented : thefe again may
be diftinguiflied from the unaccented, and
by thefe means we make a nearer approach
to the fenfe of compofition, and to a me-
thod of conveying our delivery of it to
others. But a ftill greater advance re-
mains to be made by another difl:in6tion :
a diflindlion, which, to the former advan-
tages of marking the different degrees of
force on words, adds the ftill more ftrik-
in^ difference of inflexion of voice. This
P 4 diflinC"
4© ELEMENTS OF
diftindion, though obvious and palpable,
is perfedly new ; and cannot fail to add
greatly to inftrudion in fpeaking, as thefe
two different inflexions of voice are the
moft marking and fignificant diftindions
of fpeech.
As a fpeclmen "of the utility of thefe
diftindions of emphafis and inflexion, we
may obferve, that a difl'erence of charac-
ter may exprefs the different degrees of
force with which every word is pronounc-
ed, and a different accent may fhow what
inflexion each of thefe forces muft adopt.
Thus in the following example :
excrafe and temperance Jlnngthen even an IN"
DIF^FERENT conftitution.
Here we fee a threefold diflindion of
force : the word indifferent is emphatical,
and has the greateft ftrefs ; the w^ords ex^
ercije^ temperance^ 2S\.^Jlrengthen^ have a
lefler degree of force ; and the words and^
even^ an^ and conJlitutiGn^ have a ftill
fmaller
ELOCUTION. 41
fmaller degree of flrefs, and may be faid
to be abfolutely feeble : and thefe different
forces are diverfified by the difference of
inflexion, as marked in the example. But
although in certain critical cafes, where
the fenfe of an author is difHcult to point
out, all thefe three diftincftions may greatly
aflift us in conveying the exad pronuncia^
tion ; yet in general, it will be quite fuf-
ficient to mark the emphatic word with
fmail Italics^ and the refl with Roman
letters, without entering into the diflinc-
tinction of the feeble words from thofe
that have a fecondary force, which feeble
words, if neceffary to be pointed out, may
be denoted by the fmall Roman letter, and
their different inflexions by a different ac-»
cent. \
(j5* Note. If an acute or grave accent is over the accent-
ed fyllable of a word, it indicates that the word mu2:
be pronounced with the riling or falling inflexion, as
much as if thefe accents had been placed at the end
gi the word.
THEORY
( 42 )
THEORY OF EMPHATIC INFLEXION.
TTAving thus endeavoured to give a clear
"^ and diftindt idea of the two different
kinds of emphafis, and attempted to prove,
that emphafis, properly fo called, alw^ays
fiippofes contradiflindion or antithefis, ei-
ther expreffed or imderftood ; it v/ill now
be neceffary to fhow that every emphatic
word, properly fo called, is as much dif-
tinguifhed by the inflexion it adopts, as
by the force with w^hich it is pronounced.
We have feen already that where there
is no emphafis, the moft fignificant words
in a fentence adopt a different inflexion of
voice for the fake of variety and harmony :
for provided the fentence reads well it is
of no confcquence on which words the
different inflexions are placed. Thus in
the following fentence :
Excrcifc"^ and temperance' ftrcngthen^ the
coniiitutioa^.
la
ELOCUTION. 43
In this fentence, I fay, the words temper-
ance and Jlrengthen have the rlfing, and
exerctfe and confiltution the falling infle-
xion ; but if this fentence were lengthened
by the addition of another member, we
fliould find the inflexions fhift their places.
Thus in the following fentence :
Exercife^ and temperance^ fl:renpthen^ the
conftitution/ and fweeten/ the enjoyments^ of
llfeN.
Here, I fay, the words exercife and conftL
tution have the rifmg, and temperance and
Jtrengthen the falling inflexion, as moft
agreeable to the harmony of the whole
fentence : but if a word really emphatical
had been in the lirfl: fentence, no addi-
tional member would have obliged it to
alter its inflexion. Thus in the followin'>-
fentence :
ExercifeN and temperance^ flrengthen/eveii
an indifereni^ conftitution.
Here the word indifferent, Y^Kicn is really
emphatical, has the falling inflexion ; and
this
44 ELEMENTS OF
this inflexion it will ftill preferve though
we lengthen the fentence in imitation of
the former by an additional member. For
example :
Exercife'' and temperance"^ flrengthen-^ even
an indifferent^ conftitution^, and fupply^ in
fomc^ meafure the imperfedtions/ of nature^.
Here we find that, however the infle-
xion may change place on the reft of the
words, the word indifferent muft always
have the falling inflexion, or the fenfe of
the fentence will not be brought perfedly
out. In the fame manner we may ob-
ferve, that the fame word in another fen-
tence, when it requires ,the rifmg infle-
xion, cannot alter that inflexion to the
falling, without injuring the fenfe. Thus
in the following fentence.
He that has but an indifferent conftitution
X)i4ght to flrengihen it by exercife and temper^
ance.
Kere the v/ord indifferent muft necefla-
jrily have the cmpliafis with the riflng in-
ELOCUTION. 45
flexion, whatever may be the inflexion ba
the other words.
As a farther proof that emphatic words
cannot alter their inflexion, we need only
attend to the pronunciation of a line in
Milton, where two emphatic words are
oppofed to each other ; fpeaking of Nim-
rod, he fays,
Hunting (and men^ not beajis^ ihall be his
game.) B. xii. v. 30.
In pronouncing this pafllage, we fhall
find eyery reader lay the falling inflexion
on men^ and the rifing on beafts^ as giv-
ing them a contrary pofition, that is, pro-
nouncing men with the rifmg, and beafts
with the falling inflexion, would foon
convince us that the former arrangement
is precifely what the fenfe demands.
From thefe obfervations this maxim
arifes, that as the emphafis of a word de-
pends on the fenfe of a fentence, fo the
inflexion of voice which this emphatic
word
46 E L E M E N T S O F
word adopts, depends on the fenfe like-
wife, and is equally invariable : from
whence it will evidently follow, that where
there are tvv-o emphatic words in the fame
fentence, the fenfe alone can decide which
is to have the rihng, and which the fall-
ing inflexion of voice.
It has been already proved, that cra-
phafis always implies antithefis ; and that
where this antithefis is agreeable to the
fenfe of the author, the emphafis is pro-
per ; but that where there is no antithefis
in the thought, there ought to be none on
the words ; becaufe, whenever an empha-
lis is placed upon an improper word, it
v;iH fuggcit an antithefis, which eiilicr
does not exift, or is not agreeable to tlie
fenfe and intention of the writer. — Here
fome new light fcems to be thrown on the
nature of cmpluiiis, and a line drav/n to
diftinguiih eiii]ihatic vrc.rds Iroin others ;
but dill wc arc al a loic. tor the rcaibn
xvLy
ELOCUTION. '47
why one emphatic word fhould adopt the
rlfing inflexion, and another the falling :
from the foregoing examples, it appears,
that every emphatic word requires either
the one or the other of thefe inflexions,
and that the meaning of an author entirely
depends on giving each emphatic word its
peculiar inflexion. It does not feem there-
fore entirely ufelefs, fo far to enquire into
the nature, or fpecific quality, if I may be
allowed to call it fo, of thefe two empha-
tic inflexions, as to be able to decide which
we {hall adopt where the fenfe of the au-
thor does not immediately didate. Thus
in a former quotation from Milton, when
fpeaking of Nimrod, he fays :
Hunting (and me'ii^ not heaJIs^ ihall be his
game.
Here I fay, the ear and underfl:anding are
both im-mediately fatisned upon pronounc-
ing J2ien with the falling, and beafts with
the rifrng inflexion ; but in another line
of
48 ELEMENTS OF
of the fame author, when fpeaking of
Satan, he calls him,
The tempter e*er the accufer of mankind.
Here, I fay, it is not quite fo clear how
we fliall difpofe of thefe two inflexions
on the two emphatic words tempter and
accufer ; and an enquiry into the nature
of thefe inflexions, fo as to fix the pecu-
liar import of each, may, perhaps, aflift
us in deciding with precifion in this and
fimilar inftances.
It has been obferved, that emphafis is
divifible into two kinds, namely, into
that where the antithefis is exprefled, and
that where it is only implied ; or in other
words, into that emphafis where there
are two or more emphatic words corrcf-
ponding to each other, and that where
the emphatic word relates to feme other
word, not exprefled but underft:ood ; an
inflance of the flrll is this :
When
ELOCUTION. 49
When aPerlian foldierwas reviling Alexander
the Great, his officer reprimanded him by fay-
ing. Sir, you were paid to fight againft Alex-
ander and not to rail at him. Spe£lator»
Here we ^ii^Jight and rail are the two
emphatic words which correfpond to each
other, and that the pofitive member which
affirms fomething, adopts the falling in-
flexion on Jight^ and the negative mem-
ber, which excludes fomething has the
rifmg inflexion on rail.
An inftance of the latter kind of em-
phafis is this :
By the faculty of a lively and pidlurefque
imagination, a man in a dungeon is capable
of entertaining himfelf with fcenes and land-
ikips, more beautiful than any that can be
found in the whole compafs of nature.
SpeEtator, N° 411.
Here we find the word dungeon em-
phatical, but it has not any correfpondent
word as in the other fentence. If we pro-
VoL. IL E nounce
^O ELEMENTS OF
nounce this emphatic word with the fall-
ing inflexion the correfpondent words
which belong to this emphafis may be
imagined to be nearly thefe, not merely
abfent from beaufifhl fienes 5 which if add-
ed to the word dungeon^ we fhould find
perfedly agreeable to the fenfe fuggefted
by the emphafis on that word ; if we draw
out this latter fentence at length we Ihall
find it confift of the fame pofitive and ne-
gative parts as the former, and that the
pofitive part aflumes the falling, and the
negative the rifmg inflexion in both.
EXAMPLES.
When a Perfian foldicr was reviHno: Alex-
ander the Great, his officer reprimanded him
by fiiying ; Sir, you were paid tofgbt^ Alex-
ander and not to rail^ at him.
By the faculty of a lively and pifturefque
hnagination, a man in a dnn^eot^ ^ and not
merely ahfent^ from beautiful fcenes, is capa-
■ble of entertaining himfclf with fcenes and
land-
ELOCUTION. ^t
iandikips, more beautiful than any that can be
found ip the whole compafs of nature.
Here then we are advanced one ftep to-
wards a knowledge of what inflexion of
voice we ought to ufe on one kind of em-
phaflS ; for WHENEVER THE EMPHATIC
Word points out a particular
8emse in exclusion of some other
sense, this emphatical word adopts
The falling inflexion t the word
Jight^ therefore, in the firft, and dungeon
in the lafl example, muft necefTarily be
pronounced with the falling inflexion, as
they tacitly exclude rail., and mere ahfence
from beautiful fcenes^ which are in contra-»
diftindion to them.
Having thus difcovered the fpecific im-
port of one emphatic inflexion, it will
not be very difEcult to trace out the other :
for as the import of thefe two inflexions
may be prefumed to be different, we may,
by analogy, be led to conclude, that as the
E 2 era-
52 ELEMENTS OF
emphatic word which excludes fomething
in contradiftindion to it, demands the
falling inflexion, the emphasis with
THE RISING INFLECTION IS TO BE
PLACED ON THOSE WORDS, WHICH,
THOUGH IN CONTRADISTINCTION TO
SOMETHING, ELSE DO NOT ABSOLUTELY
EXCLUDE ITS EXISTENCE. Let US try
this by an example. Lothario, in the Fair
Penitent, exprefling his contempt for the
oppofition of Horatio, fays :
By the joys
Which yet my foul has uncontroU'd purfu'd,
I would not turn afide from my lealt pleafure
Though all thy^ force were arm'd to bar my
way. Fair Penitent, A<ft ii.
The word //rt', in this paflage, has the em-
phafis with the rifmg inflexion ; which
intimates, that however Lothario might
be reftrained by the force of others, Ho-
ratio's force, at leaft, was too infignificant
to control him : and as a farther proof
that
ELOCUTION. 53
tliat this is the fenfe fuggefted by the rif-
ing inflexion on the word thy^ if we do
but alter the inflexion upon this word, by
giving it the emphafis with the falling in-
flexion, we fhall find, that inftead of con-
tempt and fneer, a compliment will be
paid to Horatio ; for it would imply as
much as if Lothario had faid, 1 would not
turn afide from my leajl pleafure^ not only
though common for ce^ but even though thy
force^ great as it is^ were armed to bar my
ipay : and that this cannot be the fenfe of
the paflage is evident.
Here then we feem arrived at the true
principle of diftindion in emphafis. All
EMPHASIS HAS AN ANTITHESIS EITHER
EXPRESSED OR UNDERSTOOD ; IF THE
EMPHASIS EXCLUDES THE ANTITHESIS,
THE EMPHATIC WORD HAS THE FALL-
ING INFLEXION ; IF THE EMPHASIS
DOES NOT EXCLUDE THE ANTITHESIS,
THE EMPHATIC WORD HAS THE RISING
E 3 IN-
54 ELEMENTS OF
INFLEXION. The gr^nd dirtindion,
therefore, between the two emphatic in-
flexions is this ; THE FALLING INFLE-
XION AFFIRMS SOMETHING IN THE
EMPHASIS, AND DENIES WHAT IS OP-
POSED TO IT IN THE ANTITHESIS;
WHILE THE EMPHASIS WITH THE
RISING INFLEXION, AFFIRMS SOME^
THING IN THE EMPHASIS, VflTHOUT
DENYING WHAT IS OPPOSED TO IT IN
THE ANTITHESIS : the former therefore
from its affirming and denying abfolutely,
may be called the ftrong emphafis, and
the latter from its affirming only, and not
denying, may be called the weak empha-
fis. As a farther trial of the truth of
thefe definitions, let us examine them by
a few additional examples.
When Richard the Third rejeds the
propofal of the duke of Norfolk to par-
don the rebels, he fays :
Why
ELOCUTION. 55
Why that, indeed, was our fixth Harry*s way.
Which made his reign one fcene of rude com-
motion :
rU be in men's defpite^ a monarch : no.
Let king's ihaxfear^ forgive; blows and revenge
For me. Richard IIL Ad: 5.
In this example, we find feveral words
emphatical ; but the words defpite d^ViAfear
particukrly fo : thefe are always pro-
nounced with the ftrong emphafis, which
always adopts the falling inflexion. In
the foregoing definition of this emphafis,
it is fald, that the falling inflexion aflirms
fomething in the emphafis, and denies
what is oppofed to it in the antithefis ;
and we accordingly find, that fomething
is affirmed of the words defpite and fear^
and fomething is denied of the antithetic
objed:s fuggefted by thefe words, which
diXQ favour MsAjearleJjneJs \ for the para-
phrafe of thefe words when thus empha-
tical, would be, Til be^ not in men s favour ^
E 4 kut
56 ELEMENTS OF
but in their defpite a monarch — and let not
me who amfearlefs, but kings that fear ^ for ^
give : by which we perceive, the juftnefs
of the definition ; for what is affirmed of
the emphatic objed: is denied of the anti-
thetic objedt ; agreeably to the definition
of the ftrong emphafis, or the emphafis
with the falUng inflexion : another exam-
ple will ferve farther to illuftrate the na-
ture of this fpecies of emphafis.
When Cato is encouraging his little fe-
nate to hold out againft Caefar to the laft,
he fays :
Why Ihould Rome fall a moment'^ ere her
time ?
The emphafis, with the falling inflexion
on the word moment^ which is the infle-
xion it is always pronounced with, fug-
gefts an antithefis oppofed to a moment,
which antithefis is, a very Jhort time^ and
the import of this emphafis at length,
would be equivalent to this : Why Jhould
Romt
ELOCUTION. 57
Rome fall not only a little, but even a mo^
ment before her time ? By which para-
phrafe, we fee the definition of this em-
phafis again exempUfied ; for fomething"
is affirmed of the emphatic object, and
fomething is denied of the antithetic obje(3:.
Another example will make the juftnefs
of the definition ftill more evident. King
Henry, in Richard the Third, fpeaking of
the foftnefs of his difpofition, fays :
In my eyes jujiice has feem'd bloody.
Rich. III. Ad: i.
In this line the emphafis, with the fall-
ing inflexion on the word jujlicey intimates
that not only barbarity and cruelty^ but
even jujiice feemed bloody : and here, as in.
the former examples, the emphatic phrafe
is a pofitive propofition, and the antithe-
tic phrafe a negative one.
The import of the emphafis with the
rifing inflexion, may be exemplified by
the following pafllige. Horatio, in the-
Fair
jg E L E M E N T S O F
Fair Penitent, taxing Lothario with for-
gery, fays :
*Twas bafe and poor, unworthy of a man^
To forge a fcroll fo villainous and loofe
And mark iit with a noble lady*s name.
Fair Penit. Ad ii.
The word man^ in the firft line of this ex-
ample, is the emphatic objed:, which muft
neceffarily have the rifxng inflexion ; be-
caufe this inflexion intimates, that fome-
thing is affirmed of the emphatic, which
is not denied of the antithetic objedt : the
antithetic objed: to the word mariy we may
fuppofe, to be fome being of a lower or-
der ; and if this emphafis were paraphrafed
it would run thus : 'Twas bafe and poor ^
unworthy of a man^ though not unworthy
cf a brute. And thus we find, that in
this emphafis, what is affirmed of the em-
phatic objed is not denied of the antithe-
tic objed, agreeably to the defmition laid
down.
In
ELOCUTION. ^g
In the examples which have been hi-
therto produced, the emphafis has always
clearly fuggefted the antithefis ; and a pa-
raphrafe, formed by producing both the
emphatic and antithetic objed, has readily
prefented itfelf : but there are many in-
ftances, where, though the antithetic ob-
jed is equally real, it is not fo eafily made
out. In order to facilitate this operation,
it will be neceflary to obferve, that the
human feelings have recourfe to the mofl
minute dillindions imaginable for the fake
of expreffing thofe feelings with precifion
^nd force.
Thus when Lothario, in the Fair Peni-
tent, fays to Lucilla :
I fee thou haft learn'd to rail^.
Fair Penit. A(ft i.
The emphafis with the rifing inflexion
on the word rail^ does not fuggeft any
precife antithetic objed in oppofition to it,
but an indefinite fomething more excellent
than
6o ELEMENTS OF
than railing, as if he had faid, I fee thou
hafi learned to rail^ if thou haft not ac^
guired any art more excellent than railing :
but whether (he has any fuch acquirement
he leaves her to judge.
In the fame manner, when Jane Shore
is protefting her fidelity to Edward's iffue,
Glofter anfwers ;
'Tis well — we'll iry^ the temper of your
heart. Jane Shore, Ad iv.
The emphafis with the falling inflexion
on the word try fuggefts an antithefis,
which makes it neceflary to have recourfe
to the former fpeech : in this we find Jane
Shore give proof of her fidelity by pro-
teftations ; but Glofter replies, '7/j welly
we'll try the temper of your heart ; which is
perfectly equivalent to faying, We will not
only prove your fidelity by talking^ but by
trial \ and as this amplifies and illuftrates
the fenfe of the paflage, we may be fure
the emphafis is properly placed.
An
ELOCUTION. 6r
An inftance of an antithefis, perhaps,
ftill lefs obvious, we have in the following
line of Richard the Third, where Prince
Edward apologizes for his brother's far-
caftic ridicule on the duke of Glocefter ;
I hope your grace knows how to hear^ with
him. Richard Act iii.
The word bear^ In this fentence, is the
emphatical word, and always pronounced
with the rifing inflexion ; but though we
perceive at firft hearing, the propriety of
adopting this inflexion, we cannot fo rea-
dily difcover the antithetic objed intimat-
ed by it ; it is not till we confider the
definition of the neuter verb to bear^ that
we find out what is oppofed to it ; the
word bear^ in the paflage alluded to, indi-
cates fupporting a degree of difpleafure, fo
as to feem pleafed when we are not really
fo ; the antithetic objed, therefore, muft
be, being really pleafed^ and the paraphrafe,
intimated by this emphafis will be this :
/ Iwpe^
6z ELEMENTS OF
1 hope your grace knows how to bear, or t&
feem pleafed with him, though not to he
really pleafed with him.
Sometimes the fenfe of a pafTage makes
It difficult to determine whether we muft
ufe the emphafis with the rifmg, or falUng
inflexion, and in this cafe, (though it fel-
dom happens) we may adopt either the
one or the other indifferently. Thus when
Horatio, in the Fair Penitent, tells Ca-
lifta that he came to her as a friend, {he
anfwers :
You are my hujhand's^ friend, tlie friend of
Altamo7it !^
The words hujband and Altamont, in thi$
line, are emphatical ; if they are both pro-
nounced with the falling inflexion, it im-
ports an abfolute denial of the antithetic
objed:, which is the frlendjl.np of Horatio
to her ; if we pronounce them with th6
rifing inflexion, it only tnfmuates that he
is not her friend : and this latter emphafis,
feems
ELOCUTION. '62
feems the moft fuitable to the ntuatlon of
CaHfla, as at that time ihe has not fo far
broke terms with Horatio as abiblutely to
deny that he is her friend.
Thus have I been led infenfibly by my
fubjeft into intricacies and diftind:ions,
whither, perhaps, but few of my readers
will be able to follow me : I might, in-
deed, have contented myfelf with lefs mi-
nutenefs and precifion, but the fpeculation
appeared too curious and ufeful ' to be
flightly treated. If what has been ob-
ferved of thefe emphatic inflexions be true,
we may take occafion to contemplate how
few are the principles on which Divine
Wifdom conftrudts operations of the
greateft extent and variety,: and, it may
be prefumcd, that by being acquainted
with thefe principles, we Ihall be better
enabled to enter into the views of provi-
vidence in the gift of fpeech, by perfed:-
ing and regulating it according to thefe
views.
64 ELEMENTSOF
views, By a knowledge of the principles
of grammar, we are enabled to exprefs
our thoughts with greater force, precifion,
and perfpicuity ; and it cannot be doubted,
that a knowledge of the grammar of pro-
nunciation, if it may be called fo, will
powerfully tend to the fame ufeful pur«
pofe.
PRAC
( 65 )
PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF EMPHASIS.
TTAving endeavoured to fliew the na-
ture of emphafis, properly fo called,
and attempted to diftinguifh it into its fe-
veral kinds, according to the inflexion of
voice it adopts ; having made fome efforts
to afcertain the peculiar character of each
emphatic inflexion, and by this means af-
forded fome afliftance to a difcovery of the
true emphafis in doubtful cafes : it will
be neceflary in the next place to endea-
vour to reduce what has been faid into a
practical fyftem, and to extend the former
obfervations on emphatic inflexion to the
pronunciation of every different fpecies
of emphafis. Hitherto we have treated
chiefly of that en^phafis, which may be
called fingle; that is, either where the two
emphatic words in antithefis with each
other are expreffed ; or where but one of
them is exprefled, and the antithefis to it
Vol. II. F is
66 ELEMENTSOF
is implied or underflood. But befides
thefe, there are inftances where two ern-
phatic words are cppofed to two others ;
and fometimes, where three emphatic
words are oppofed to three others in the
fame fentence. Let us take a view of
each of thefe different kinds of emphafis
in its order :
CExercife and temperance flrengthen even an
# indifferent^ conftitution.
f You were paid to fight"^ againft Alexander,
2 and not to rail^ at him.
The pleafures of the imagination are not fo
grofs^ as thofe of fenfe^ nor fo refined^
as thofe of the underftanding^ .
C She^ in her girls^ again is courted^ ,
^/ 7^ go a zvooing^ with my boys^.
In the firft example, we find the em-
phatic word indifferent^ {\\^^^^ an anti-
thefis not ^xpreifed, namely, not a good
confiitution ; this may be called the fmgle
emphafis implied.
la
£ L o c tr r 1 o N. 67
III the fecond example, the word fight
and rail are in antithefis with each other,
and do not fuggeft any other antithetic
objeds ; and this may be called the fmgle
emphafis exprefled : but in the next exam-
ple, the emphatic words grofs and re^
fined^ are oppofed to each, other, and thefe
are contrafted with the other two empha-
tic words, finfe and under jianding ; and
this mutual correfpondence and oppofition
of four parts to each other, may not im-
perly be termed the double emphafis j and
where three antithetic objects are oppofed
to three, as in N° 4. we may call the
aflemblage a treble emphafis.
Smgle emphafis.
In the fmgle emphafis we find the in-
flexions are fo ftridly appropriated to the
nature of the emphafis, that a different
arrangement of emphatic inflexion would
inevitably alter the fenfe ; this appropria-
F 2 tion
6^ ELEMENTS OF
tion of inflexion to fenfe does not feem
to hold fo ftridly where the emphafis is
double^ or treble ; for here, as tlie anti-
thetic objedis are almoft always exprefled,
and there is feldom any danger of a jnif-
take in the fenfe, we fhall not wonder to
find harmony claim her indifputable rights
in making this fenfe moft agreeable to the
car ; for in an art, whofe intention is to
pleafe, as well as inftrucS, we muft never
give up what is agreeable but for fake of
inftrudion, which is itfelf the greateft
pleafure. But though the inflexions of the
double and treble emphafis frequently
yield to the harmony of arrangement,
the Angle emphafis expreffed requires its
fpecific inflexion on each part ; for in the
fecond example :
You were paid to figbl^ againd Alexander
and not to rail^ at him.
Here if we were to place the rlfing infle-
xion onjighty and the falling on rail, as
the
ELOCUTION. 69
the harmony of cadeiKe would intimate,
we fhoiild foon find, that in the fmgle em-
phafis exprefied, there is as ftridt an ap-
propriation of inflexion to the fenfe of
the emphafis, as when but on€ part of the
antithelis is exprefled in the fmgle em-
phafis implied. As the inflexions in this
fpecies of emphafis therefore, are of much
more importance, and much more difficult
to fettle than thofe of the double and tre-
ble emphafis, it may not be improper, be-
fore we enter on the latter, to extend our
fpeculations a little on the former.
Whatever may be the reafon Y:^hy the
pofitive member of a fentence Ihould adopt
the emphafis with the falling inflexion,
and the negative member the rifing ; cer-
tain it is, that this appropriation of em-
phatic inflexion to a pofitive or negative
fignification ruo$ through the whole fyf-
tem of pronunciation. Agreeably to this
-arrangement, we conflantly find good
F 3 readers
70 ELEMENTS OF
readers finifh negative fentences with the
rifing inflexion, where ordinary readers are
fure to ufe the falHng inflexion, and to
drop the voice ; and, perhaps this differ-
ent pronunciation forms one of the great-
eft: differences between good and bad
readers : thus in the following fentence
from the Oration of Demofl:henes on the
Crown, tranflated by Dr. Leland.
Obferve then, i^fchines; our anceftors acfled
thus in both thefe inflanccs, not that they
acted for their benefadlors^, not that they faw
no danger in thefe expeditionfi'^. Such confi-*
derations never could induce them to abandon
thofe who fled to their protedtion./ No^.
From the nobler mctives of glory and renown,
they devoted their fcrvices to the diflrefled^.
There are few good readers who will
not read the two firft fentences of this
pafTagc fo as to terminate them with the
riflng inflexion : and this manner of read-
ing them we findragreeable to the para^
phrafe
ELOCUTION. 71
phrafe fuggefted by the falling inflexion,
adopted by the pofitive fignification of the
lall fentence ; by which means all the fen-
tences of this pafTage form parts of one
thought, and may be reduced to the defi-
nition of the emphafis with the falling
inflexion ; as, T^hey a5fed from the nobler
motives of glory and renown^ , and not in"
ferior motives^.
Wherever, therefore, a negative fen-
tence, or member of a fentence, is in op-
pofition to a pofitive fentence, or member
of a fentence, we find it- ufually adopt
the rifing inflexion ; and often where
there is no correfpondent pofitive mem-
ber or fentence exprefled, if the negative
member or fentence would admit of a po-
fitive, and that the fenfe of this pofitive
is agreeable to the general tenor of the
compofition ; in this cafe, likewife, we
find the negative member or fentence
adopt the rifing inflexion. Thus in the
F 4 fame
72 ELEMENTS OF
fame oration, Demofthenes, fpeaking of
the public works he had ereded, fays,
As to thofe public ivorks (o much the ob-
ject of your ridicule, they, undoubtedly, de-
mand a due (hare of honour and applaufe ; but
1 rate them far beneath the great merit of my
adminillration. It is not with ftones nor bricks
that I have fortified the city/. It is not from
works like thefe that 1 derive my reputation.^
Would you know my methods of fortifying /?
Examine and you will find them, in the arms,
the towns, the territories, the harbours I have
fecured ; the navies, the troops, the armies I
have raifed^.
The two middle negative fentences of
this paflage, have not any correfpondent
pofitive fentences preceding or following
them; but the rifmg inflexion on thefe
fentences fuggeft a meaning fo compatible
with the mind of the fpeaker, that we
cannot doubt of its being the true one ;
for it is equivalent to faying, // is not
moith works like thefe that I have fortified
the
ELOCUTION. 73
the city^^ hut with fomething much better^.
This will receive a farther illuftration from
another paflage of the fame orator.
For if you now pronounce, that, as my
public condud: hath not be^n right, Ctefiphon
muft fland condemned, it muft be thought
that yourfelves have adted wrong^, not that
you owe your prefent flate to the caprice of
fortune /. But it cannot be. No, my country-
men ! it cannot be you have aifted wrong, in
encountering danger bravely, for the liberty
and fafety of all Greece''. No ! by thofe ge-
nerous fouls of ancient times, who were ex-
pofed at Marathon ! By thofe who flood ar-
rayed at Plataea ! By thofe who encountered
the Perfian fleet at Salamis ! who fought at
Artemilium ! By all thofe illuflrlous fons of
Athens, whofc remains lie depofited in the
public monuments ! All of whom received the
fame honourable interment from their country :
not thofe only who prevailed /, not thofe only
who were victorious/. And with reafon. What
was the part of gallant men they all perform-
ed ; their fuccefs was fuch, as the fupreme cii-
redor of the world difpenfed to each.
Tho
74 ELEMENTS OF
The two laft members of the firft fen-
tence we find naturally adopt their fpecific
inflexions ; that is, the pofitive member,
the falling on wrongs and the negative the
riling on fortune. The fucceeding fen-
tence has a negation in it that fuits the
riling inflexion much better than the fall-
ing, and therefore Greece has very pro-
perly the rifmg inflexion ; and the latter
members, not thofe only who prevailed, not
iliofe only who were victorious^ will not ad-
mit of the falling inflexion without an
evident prejudice to the fenfe.
Plaufible, however, as this dodrine may
appear, it is not pretended that it is univer-
fally true. It is certain, that a negative
member of a fentence may often have the
falling, and a pofitive member the rifing
inflexion : but it is as certain, that where
the fentence is fo conftrudted as to require
the rifmg inflexion on the negative, and
the falling on the pofitive part of the fen-
tence,
ELOCUTION. 75
tcnce, there is always both greater force
and harmony.
From thefe obfervatlons, therefore, we
may conclude, that in the fmgle emphafis
where harmony is not groily violated,
fenfe ought always to predominate : and
hence will arife this general rule : When-
ever A SENTENCE IS COMPOSED OF A
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PART, IF THIS
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE IMPORTS
THAT SOMETHING IS AFFIRMED OF
ONE OF THE THINGS WHICH IS DENIED
OF THE OTHER ; THE POSITIVE MUST
HAVE THE FALLING AND THE NEGA-
TIVE THE RISING INFLEXION.
Small as the extent of this rule is, it
appears to throw fome light on the doc-
trine of emphafis ; and particularly where
the fenfe of a paflage is not very obvious,
and where harmony admits of a diverfity
of inflexion. Let us endeavour to reduce
thefe fpeculations to pradice.
In
y6 ELEMENTS OF
In a pafiage of Milton's Paradife Loft,
the angel, fpeaking of Nimrod, fays :
Hunting (and men^ not beafls'' fhall be his
game.) P. L. B. xii.
Every ear agrees to lay the emphafis with
the falling inflexion on men^ and the em-
phafis with the rifing inflexion on beajis^
agreeably to the rule jufl: laid down ; but
when in the fame author we meet with a
defcription of Satan's coming down to be
revenged on men in thefe words,—
for now
Satan now firft inflam*d with rage came down.
The tempter ere th'accufer of mankind.
To wreck on innocent frail man his lofs
Of that firft battle and his flight to hell.
P. L. B. iv.
In the third line of this paflage we find
no fuch certainty in adapting a difl'erent
inflexion to the two emphatic words
tempter and acciifer^ as in the former in-
ftance.
A little
ELOCUTION. 77
A little reflexion, however, obliges us
to give the falling inflexion to tempter^
and the rifing to accufer ; but the reafon
of this difpofition does not readily occur,
A little farther reflexion will induce us to
refolve this arrangement of inflexion into
the foregoing rule. For the word ere^ flg-
nifying before^ relates to the word now^
in the former line, and the paraphrafe of
this emphafis is, The tempter now^ at this
time^ not the accufer, as he was afterwards ;
whereas a tranfpofition of emphatic infle-
xion, that is, the riflng inflexion on
tempter^ and the falling on accufer^ would
infallibly fuggefl: this fenfe. — The tempter^
not only before he was fomething more in--
imical than accufer^ but before he was even
the accufer of mankind. — This paraphrafe
agrees fo ill with the fenfe of the paflage,
and the former fo well, that we need not
hefitate a moment about the true empha-
fis.
The
^8 ELEMENTS OF
The reafon for placing the emphafi^
with the rifing iniiexion on accufer^ and
that with the failing on tempter^ feems to
arife from the fame principle as that of
placing the emphafis with the falling in-
flexion on the pofitive, and that with the
rifmg inflexion on the negative part of a
fentence ; for the priority of one thing to
another is reducible to its being that thing
at that time, and not another thing ; and
the preferablenefs of one thing to another
is equal to the choice being fixed on one
thing and not another. Thus the follow-
ing phrafe ; " I would rather * teach the
" art of poifoning than that of fophiftry,'*
may be reduced to this : if I muft teach
one of thefe arts, I will teach poifoning
• This excellent fentiment is Dr. Prieftley's, and as it
Hands in his Syftem of Oratory, may ferve for an exam-
ple of a beautiful purenthefid ; "If our views really be
*' to promote the inrererts of truth (and fooner would I
*' teach the art of poifoning than that of fophiilry) this me-
*' thod hath another great advantage to recommend it."
Byjhm of Oral. p. 4.6. ^iC Parcn'hejjs, p. 330. vol. i.
and
ELOCUTION. j-g
and not fophiftry. But if one of thefe
parts of the antithefis admits of emphalis,
that is, if it appears to be the intention of
the fpeaker, not to fay fimply tliat one
thing is prior or preferable to another, but
that one of thefe things, in the ftridell
fenfe of the word, and oppofed to fome-
thing of fmaller import, is prior or prefer-
able to another ; or, if one of thefe things
is faid to be prior or preferable to another
thing, taken in its ftrideil fenfe, and op-
pofed to fome other thing of lefs import-
ance ; in this cafe, I fay, the emphafis
with the falling inflexion is on that part
of the anthithefis which intimates fome-
thing of more importance than is fimply
expreffed. Thus in the following fen-
tence,
I would die fooner than mention it.
If we mean only to declare our choice be-
tween dying and mentioning, the falling
inflexion muft be placed on dicy as this is
the
8o ELEMENTS OF
the part of the fentence that correfponds
to the pofitive part of the declaration : if
we would exprefs this choice with em-
phafis, fo as to {how that we would not
only undergo great difficulties, but that
we would even die fooner than mention it,
the fame inflexion is preferved on the fame
word, with a fmall addition of emphatic
force ; if it were underftood that we would
die fooner than mention it, but for fear
mention Ihould be taken in too large a
fenfe, we wifh to exprefs a refolution of
dying before we would difcover the fmall-
eft part of it ; in this cafe, I fay, we lliould
lay the ftrong emphafis and falling infle-
xion on mention^ which would intimate a
new antithefis, and be equivalent to fay-
ing, / would not only die before 1 would
declare or relate it^ but even before 1 would
mention it ; and here we find the word die
aflume the weak emphafis and rifmg in-
flexion, as the queftion in this cafe is not
fo
ELOCUTION* St
fo much about dying, as about the degree
of mention we are refolved not to make.
But if both parts of the comparifon are
underftood, and therefore to be taken fim-
ply and without emphafis, and it is the
intention of the fpeaker to declare with
emphafis the priority or preferabl^nefs
only ; in this cafe, the comparative word
has the ftrong emphafis and falling infle-
xion, and the words compared has the
the weak emphafis and riling inflexion.
Thus Gay, in his fable of the Elephant
and Bookfeller, makes the latter offer the
former pay for writing fatire ; and in crder
to Ihow there is no necefTity to hire
beafl:s to prey on men, while men by envy
prey on each other, fays,
Envy^s nJIjarpeA fpur than pa5% ^
Here the word Jbarper has the ftrong em-
phafis and falling inflexion, as e/ivy is not
faid with emphafis, to be a fharper fpur
than pay, as envy is not here oppofcd to
Vol. II, G any
g2 ELEMENTS OF
any other difpofition, or to a difpofition lefs
malevolent ; nor is pay oppofed to any
other, or to a lefs reward ; but the empha-
fis is confined to the comparative word
jharper ; as if he had faid, Rnvy is not
only a f pur equally p^arpy but Jharper than
pay.
On thefe principles we may account for
the emphafis which a good a(£tor always
places on the firfl part of the antithefis in
the following examples :
Uam, What ! look'd he frowning!)' ?
//or. A countenance more in forrow^ than
in anger-''. Shak/peare's Hamlet j Aft i.
It is a cullom
]More honored in the breacJj^ than the obferv-
ancc. Ih'id,
Oh f the blood more"^ flirs.
To roLife a lion than to ftart a hare.
Shakjpeare's Flrjt Part Hen. IV. Ad i.
This lall example is the parallel of that
from Gay J and it is prcfumed, that a ju-
dicious
ELOCtTTIO!^. 83
dicious ador would lay the great ftrefs,
that is, the emphafis with the falling iiiw
flexion on the word more^ and give the
words lion and hare the weak emphafis
and rifing inflexion. For Hotfpur, in this
paflage, is talking of dangers, and is not
fo much comparing them as the advan-
tages that arife from them ; and the para-
phrafe of this emphafis would be, tJie re-*
Jijlance we make to great and fmall daiiger
is not equal ; a great danger ft irs the blood
much more than a fmall one.
This drawing out the fignification of
emphatic words, feems the beft guide in
cafes where the fenfe is not quite obvious,
and will lead us to decide in many doubt-
ful cafes, where nothing but the tafte of
the reader is commonly appealed to. To
illuftrate this ftiil farther, let us examine
a line in Otway's Venice Preferved, where
Pierre, expatiating on the VvTetched fl:ite
of Venice, fays :
G n Juilx3
&4 ELEMENTS OF
Juftice is ]ame as well as blind among us.
The phrafe, as ivell as, fignifies nothing;
more than parity, and is nearly fnnilar in
fenfe to the conjundion and; if therefore
we lay the falling inflexion on blindy it
would be equivalent to faying, Juftice is
riot only lame, but blind ; and this is a piece-
of information we did not want : for juf-
tice is. always fuppofed to be blind. But
the falling inflexion on lame, and the rif-
ing on blind, is equivalent to faying, yuf-
tice is not only blind, as JJ:e is every iDhere
elfe, but in Venice fie is lame as well as blind.
And that this is the true meaning of the
paflage cannot be doubted. If the poet
bad written the line in this manner :
Juftice is as lame as {he is blind among us.
The falling inflexion placed on blind, it
would imply, that 'Juftice is not only very
lame, but even as lame as fie is blind. Thus
we fee the fenfe varies with the different
em*
ELOCUTION. S^
emphafis we adopt, and is never fully and
forcibly difplayed, without the kind of
■emphalis that is peculiarly fuited to it.
But it may be afked fince the fenfe muft
be fully conceived before we can adapt
the emphafis to the words, of what ufe it
is to ring all thefe changes upon the dif"
ferent emphafes, when, though we con-
ceive them ever fo diftinvStly, they will
only fuggeft one particular fenfe, but will
never tell us which we fhall adopt as moil
fuitahle to the meaning of the author. To
this it may be anfwered, that whatever
tends to Ihow the different import of each
kind of emphafia, enables us the better
to judge of the fuitablenefs or unfuitable-
nefs of each emphafis to the fenfe. This
unfolding and difplaying of what is fug-
gefted by each emphafis is that affiftance
to the underdanding, wliich fped;acles are
to the eye ; magnifying glalfes are not
.calculated for thofe whofe powers of fight
G 3 Are
86 ELEMENTS OF
are fo ftrong and clear as to have no need
of them, nor for thofe who have no fight
at all ; but for fuch as wifh to view objects-
diftindily and with lefs labour than with-
out this affiftance. Where the fenfe is
clear, we need no fuch affiftance j but where
the fenfe is obfcure and dubious, it can
fcarcely be doubted that difplaying and
unfolding it by fuch paraphrafes as are
fuggefted by the application of different
kinds of emphafis, will tend greatly to
take away the ambiguity, and ihow which
kind of emphafis is mcil fuitable to the
fenfe.
Ab. antlthefis, therefore, either expreff-
ed, or undcrftood, is the fole caufe of
eniph-ans, it will be deferving of all the
reader's application to difcover this anti-
thclis where it is concealed, and to difplay
it to advantage where it is exprefled : in
tiie former inftances we perceived that the
^liiTcrent branches of the antithefis neccf-
farJiy
ELOCUTION. Sy
farily required a different inflexion of
voice ; if one branch of the antithefis re-
quired the falling, the other neceflarily re-
quired the rifmg ; and if the firft branch
required the rifing, the other almoft as
neceffarily required the falling inflexion :
for it is, perhaps, worthy of obfervation,
that though the falling inflexion, if it be
firft in the fentence, neceffarily requires its
correfpondent emphatic word to have the
rifing, yet if the firft emphafis adopts the
rifing inflexion, it does not fo invariably
require its correfpondent emphafis to be
of the falling ; but thefe inftances occur
fo feldom that they fcarcely form an ex-
ception to the contrary, which may there-
fore be very juftly called a general rule.
This, perhaps, will be fome guide to
us in determining the inflexions we are to
ufe on the different branches of an anti-
thefis, when thefe branches are complex ;
for not unfrequently an antithefis confifts
G 4 of
88 E LE M E N T S O F
of four parts, two of which are opposed
to two, which is called a double emphaiis ;
and fometimes even three parts are op-
pofed to three, and then the emphafia
may be faid to be trebled.
Double Emphafis,
The double emphafis feems moll fre-
quently to be regulated by the harmony
of the fentence ; for as it is a general rule,
that the rifmg inflexion muft take place in
the middle of fuch a fentence, the fecond
branch of the firft member muft necefla-
rily have the rifmg inflexion, and the reft
of the branches muft have fuch an empha-
fis and inflexion, as contributes moft to
the harmony of the period : with this ge-
neral rule, that the two parts of the anti-
thcfis have each of them the two different
inflexions, arranged in an oppofitc order;
that is, as two inflexions in the Hime
member cannot be aUke, if the fecond
branch
ELOCUTION. 89
branch of the firft member has the rifmg
inflexion, the firft branch muft of courfe
have the falling inflexion ; and as the laft
branch of the fecond member forms the
period, and therefore requires the falling
inflexion, the firft branch of this mem-*
ber muft neceflarily have the rifing infle-
xion ; this is the arrangement of inflexion
which feems univerfally adopted by the
ear, as it will be found, upon experiment,
no other is fo various and mufical. An
example will foon convince us of this :
The pleafures of the imagination, taken in
their full ejctenr, are not fo grofs^ as thofe of
fenje^j nor fo nfined^ as thofe of the underjland"
ing\. Specl. No 411.
In this example, the ear perceives the
neceflity of adopting the rifing inflexion
on the v,^ord /rJife ; and for the fake of
variety, lays the ftrong emphafis and fall-
ing inflexion on grofs ; and by the fame
anticipation, perceiving the period muft
have
go ELEMENTS OF
hav€ the falling inflexion on imaginatioriy
adopts the rlfing inflexion on refined \ by
thefe means, the greateft variety Is obtain-
ed, and the fenfe inviolably preferved ; for
if vye v^ere to repeat this paflage with
contrary inflexions on the firfl: member,
"Vve (hould focn perceive the impropriety.
The pleafures of imagination, taken in their
full extent are not io grofs^ as thofe oi fenje^ ^
nor fo refined as thofe of the iinderfiandtng^ .
Here we perceive the whole fentence is
monotonous, by adopting the fame infle-
xions in the fame order on the firfl and
laft members ; and the fenfe is manlfeftly
injured by laying the ftrong cmphafis and
falling inflexion In the middle of the fen-
tence, contrary to the general rule.
'Treble Emphqfis,
The treble emphafis, where all the parts
^re exprefled, occurs but feldom, and when
i|: does, there is feldom any difEculty In
pro^
ELOCUTION. 91,
pronouncing it ; for as each part has its
correfpondent part exprelTed, there is
fcarcely any neceffity to enforce one more
than the other, and they eafily fall into a
juft and harmonious arrangement. Thus
in the following lines :
.^he^ in \itx girls^ again is courted^
I^ go a zvooing^ with my boys^.
Every emphatical words adopt that in-
flexion which the harmony of the verfe
W'ould necefTarily require, if there were
not an emphatical word in the whole coup-
let. This arrangement of emphatic in-
flexions almoft always takes place when
every part of the treble emphafis is ex-
preQ'ed, but when the double emphafis
has two of its parts fo emphatical as to
imply two antithetic objects not expreffed,
and fo to form a treble emphafis implied
only ; in this cafe, I fay, it is not fo eafily
determined how we are to place the em-
phatic inflexions. Thus in the following
p^ffage of Milton : Farai, hgjty Book I.
g^ ELEMENTS OF
To reign is worth ambition, though in hell ;
Better to reign in hell tha« ferve in heaven.
The word heaven and hell, in the laft line,
befides the common antithefis which they
form to ^ach other, feem to have each of
them an antithetic object diftindt and fe-
parate, and fo to form a treble emphafis,
inftead of a double one ; for the emphafis,
with the falling inflexion on hell, feems to
intimate, that to reign is fo defn'abie that
it is better to reign, not only where it is
attended with its urual cares, but even in
hell, where it is attended with torments ,;
and the fame emphatic inflexion on heaven,
implies, that fervitude is not only deteft-
iible where it has its ufual conveniencies,
but even in heaven where it is attended
with pleafures. Thefe paraphrafcs im-
plied by the ^mplmfcs with the falling in-r
iiexion, feem not only to agree with the
fenfe of the author, but necefiariiy to be-
long to it J and yet fo agreeable is a con-
trary
ELOCUTION. 9j
trary arrangement of inflexion to the ear^
that we feldom find this pafTage pronounc-
ed in this manner.
Let a whole aflembly be defired to read
thefe hnes in Milton, and a fingle perfon
will fcarcely be found whofe ear will not
draw him into the common arrangement
of emphatic inflexion, though contrary
to the flrongefl: fenfe of the paflage :
To reign Is worth ambition though in hell.
Better to re'igii^ in hell^, than Jerve^ in
heave'/iS .
Moft readers, I fay, in repeating thefe
lines will pronounce the lafl: line as it is
marked ; that is, they will lay the falling
inflexion on reign y and the rifnig inflexion
on hell 'y in order to diverfify it from the
two concluding branches of the antithefis;
that is, the line will be exadly the fame
with refped: to inflexion and emphafis as
the following ,
Not
04 E L P: M E N T S OF
Not (o grofs^ as thofe of fenfe^, nor fo re^
fined^ as thofe of the underflanding^ .
But if we attend to the fenfe of Milton,
We fhall find that the word hell^ though
in the middle of the antithefis, feems ne-
ceflarrly to require the falling inflexion ;
for, as we have obferved, Satan's ambi-
tion to reign is fo great, that he wifhes tb
reign even in hell ; that is, not ivhere
reigning has its vfual cares attending it,
but even in hell^ where it is accompanied
UHth tortnents^fuited to his fuperior wicked-
nefs ; if we wilh to convey this fenfe
flrongly, which the words of the author
will certainly admit of, we mull necef-
farily place the emphafis with the falling
inflexion on the word he//^ and negledl
the mufic of the line, which would re-
quire another arrangement ; for if it is an
invariable maxim, that where force and
harmony arc inconJlflent, the preference
mufl
ELOCUTION. g^
liiuft be given to the former ; without all
queftion, this paflage ought to be read,
not as it commonly is, in this manner :
* To reign is worth ambition, though in hell.
Better to re/gfi^ in hell^ thany^r^v^ in h^av^n^ .
But in this,
To reign is worth ambition though in he!!.
Better to reign^ in bell"^ th:inferiJe^ in beav*n^ ,
An emphafis of exadly the fame kind is
found in a faying of Julius Casfar, who,
when he was palling through an obfcure
village in Gaul, made ufe of thefe words :
I uould rather be ihtfirji^ man in that vil-
lage^ than the fecond^ in Rome^.
The general harmony of pronunciation
invariably inclines us at the firft reading
of this paffage, to lay the emphafis with
the falling inflexion on Jirji, that with the
• Mr. Garrick, upon being afked to read thefe I'nes,
repeated them at firll in the former Tn:>de of placing the
emphatic inflexions ; but. upon re-confidsring the.'n, ap-
proved of the latter,
rifing
gS ELEMENTS OF
rifrng on village ; the rifing likewife on
fecond^ and the faUing on Rome ; but if
■we wifh ftrongly to enforce the fenfe of
the words, we muft neceffarily lay the
rifing inflexion on Jirft^ and the falhng
on village^ in the following manner :
I would rather be \\\Q.jirjl^ man in that vlU
Icige^ than iht fccond^ in Rome^.
For in this pronunciation we ftrongly en-
fo|*ce the defire he had for fuperiority, by
making him prefer it, not only in a com-
mon place^ but even in that village^ to infe-
riority^ even in Rome, If this latter mode
of reading this fentence feems too turgid
and emphatic for the hiftoric ftyle, what
are we to think of that general rule that
feems univerfally to be acknowledged by
all readers ; namely, that the fenfe of an
author ought always to be enforced to the
utmoft, let the harmony be what it will ?
This maxim, however, I take to be raihly
adopted ; for, as we have before obfervcd,
read-
E L O C tJ T I O N. 97
reading feems to be a compromife betweeri
the rights of fenfe and found. Obfcurity
is the greateft poffible defed: in reading ;
and no harmony , whatever will make
amends for it : but if the fenfe of a paf-
fage is fufficiently clear, it feems no in-
fringement on the rights of the under-
ftanding to give this fufficiently clear fenfe
an harmonious utterance. In this cafe, it
is, perhaps, neceffary to dillinguifh be-
tween clear fenfe ^ 2iW^Jlrong fenfe ; the firft,
is that which puts the author's meaning
beyond the poffibility of miftake ; the
latter, as it were, adds fomething to it,
and places the fenfe in fuch a point of
view as to give it, though not a different,
yet a greater force than what the words
immediately fuggeft ; but if this addi-
tional force becomes harfli, quaint, or
affected, the ear claims her rights in fa-
vour of harmony ; and good tafte will
always admit her claim, when the rights
Vol. IL H of
gg ELEMENTS OF
of the underftanding are fufficiently fe-
cured.
Thus in that noble fentlment of Cato :
A day, an hour of virtuous liberty
Is worth a v/hole eternity in bondage.
To pronounce this paflage with the great-
eft force, we ought to lay the emphafis
with the falling inflexion on eternity ; as
this would fuggeft a paraphrafe perfectly
illuftrative of the fenfe, which is, that
a da)\ or an hour of virtuous liberty is not
only ivorth more than the longeji finite du-
ration in bondage^ but even a whole eter-
nity. This pronunciation, however, would
neceffarily give the rifmg inflexion to bon-
dage^ which would conclude the paflage
fo inharmonioufly, that the ear finds it-
felf obliged to negled this fo forcible ex-
preflion, and content itfelf with placing
the rifing inflexion on eternity^ for the
fake of the harmony of the cadence : and
a6 the plain import of the word eternity is
fuf-
ELOCUTION. 99
fufficiently ftrong and emphatlcal, fenfe
is no great lofer by the facrifice -, if, how-
ever the thought could have been fo dif-
pofed as to have made a word fo fufcep-
tible of force as eternity adopt the falling
inflexion and conclude the line, the ex-
prellion it is prefumed would have been
ilill ftronger. Let us fuppofe, for inftance,
the two laft lines had flood thus :
A day, an hour, in virtuous liberty.
Outweighs in bondage an eternity.
I do not contend that this alteration is not
greatly inferior to the original in point of
compofition, from the neceffity of adopting
words lefs fuitable ; but, I think, I may
appeal to the ear of every critical fpeaker
for the fuperiority of the latter with re-
fpedt to the force and harmony of pronun-
ciation. In the fame manner it may be
obferved, that if the words in Milton were
tranfpofed as in the following line.
Better in helh to re'ign^, than/^rw^ in heavn^j
Ha the
100 ELEMENTS OF
the falling inflexion on hell^ and the rif-
ing on reign would preferve both the force
and harmony ; but I am far from prefum-
ing to judge whether the line would be
better by this alteration. The fame may
be obferved of the tranfpofition of the
faying of Gsefar :
In that village^ I had rather be the firji vjan^
Xk\2i\M\it fecond-^ m Ro?ne^ .
By this arrangement we fee the ftrongly
emphatic words which require the falling
infle:^ion are in the beginning and end of
the fentence, and the two emphatic words
that require the rifmg inflexion in the
middle ; and confequently, the inflexions
on the two firft and two laft: emphatic
words are in a different order. But if a
treble antithefis implied will often, for the
fake of harmony, negle(fl fuch an cmpha-
fis as produces the greatefl: force, there is
a much greater neceflity for this facrince
to found where every part of the treble
anti-
ELOCUTION. loi
antithefis is exprefled. Thus in the £oU
lowing lines :
He^ raifed a mortal^ to the /kies^
She^ drew an an^eU doivriS .
If for the fake of fhowing that Timo-
theus did not only raife a mortal very high
but even to the Jkt'es ; if, I fay, for the
fake of intimating this fenfe we lay the
emphafis with the falling inflexion on
Jj^ies, we fhall ruin the harmony of the
couplet : the fame may be obferved if we
lay the fame emphafis on angel; for though
this would intimate that St. Cecilia did not
draw down a common being, but even an
angel, yet this intimation would make no
amends for the quaintnefs and difcord this
inflexion would occafion ; but if thefe
lines had been fo conftrudied as to admit
£)f the emphafis with the falling inflexion
on thefe words, perhaps we fhould not
have found either fenfe or harmony the
"Worfe for it.
H 3 He^
102 ELEMENTS O F
lie^ to the^/Vi^ a mortal raifed
An angel^ Jl-Je^ dxt\N dowriS .
Thus we perceive there are fome things
clear and decided, others ambiguous and
indeterminate : the beft decifion in the
latter cafe is, to obferve the pronunciation
of the beft readers and fpeakers, and to
mark it by the inflexions which are here
made ufe of. A notation of this kind,
will enable us to colled: examples of dif-
ferent modes of pronunciation, and to
form an opinion from examples of the
beft authority ; by this means we ftiall be
able to give fome ftability to thofe founds
which have hitherto been thought too
fleeting and evanefcent for retrofpedion.
General Emphajts,
Hitherto emphafis has been confidered
as appropriated to a particular word in a
fcnt<?nce, the peculiar fenfe of which de-
manded an increafe of force, and an in-
flexion
E L O C U T I O N. 103
flexion correfpondent to that fenfe ; we
fliail now endeavour to throw fome Hght
upon that emphatic force, which, when
the compofition is very animated and ap-
proaches to a clofe, we often lay upon
feveral words in fucceffion : this fucceffive
emphatic force does not, like the former,
fuggeft any particular meaning excluded
by it, and therefore may not improperly
be called a general emphafis. This em-
phaiis is not fo much regulated by the
fenfe of the author, as by the tafte and
feelings of the reader ; and therefore does
not admit of any certain rule ; but as it is
very ftrong and energetic when it is hap-
pily applied, it may not be ufelefs to
endeavour to give fuch rules as will natu*-
jrally arife from a few examples.
When Lycius in Cato feems to have
exhaufted every topic in favour of giving
up a hopelefs war and fubmitting to Caefar,
he concludes with this emphatic period.
H 4 What
104 ELEMENTS OF
What men could do.
Is done already : heav'n and earth will vvitncfa
If^ Rome^ muft^ jalV , that we are innocent.
The common manner of pronouncing this
laft line is to lay an emphafis with the rif-^
ing inflexion on the word mujl^ which is
certainly a very juft one, and may be call-
ed the particular emphafis ; but if we
were to place an emphafis on each of the
four words, if^ Rome^ muji^ fo'^^^i that
is, the emphafis with the rifing inflexion
on ift that with the falling on Rome and
mtift^ and the rifing onfall \ if thefe em-
phafes, I fay, are pronounced wuth a dif-
tincl paufe after each, it is inconceivable
the force that will be given to thefe few
words.
In the fame manner, when Demoflhenes
is dcfcribing the former helplefs ftate of
Athens, he fays,
There was a time then my fcllow-clnzcns,
when the Laccdsemoninns were fovercign maf-
tcrs
ELOCUTION, 105
ters both by fea and land : when their troops
and forts furrounded the intire circuit of At-
tica, when they poiTeffed Eubcea, Tanagra, the
whole Bccotian diftridt, Megara, JEgina, Cleo-
ne, and the other iflands; while this ftate had
not one Ihip, «oA one^ zvall^.
The general mode of pronouncing the
laft member of this fentence, is, to lay aa
emphafis on the lafl word wall: this is
unqueftionably proper ; but if we lay an
emphafis on the three laft words, that is,
the falling on not^ the rifmg on one^ and
the falling on wall^ and paufe very dif^
tindly between each ; we fhall be at no
lofs to decide on the fuperiority of this ge^
peral emphafis. We have another inftancc
of the force of this general emphafis, in
that beautiful climax of Zanga, in the
tragedy of the Revenge ;
That's truly great! what think you 'twas
fet up
The Greek and Roman name in fuch a luftre,
IBut
lo6 ELEMENTS OF
But doing right in ftern defpite of nature.
Shutting their ears to all her little cries.
When great auguft and godlike jufticc call'd.
At Aulis one pour'd out a daughter's life,
And gain'd more glory than by all his wars;
Another flew a filler in juft rage ;
A third, the theme of all fucceeding times,
Gave to the cruel ax a darling fon :
Kay more, for juflice fome devote themfelves
As he at Carthage, an immortal name !
Yet there is one^ ftep^ left^ above them all.
Above their hiflory, above their fable ;
A wife^ , bride^ , miftrej^ , unenjoyed^
Do that, and tread upon the Greek and Ro-
man gbry. Mt Iv. Scene laft.
In pronouncing this paflage, we fhall find
the generality of readers content them-
felves with laying an emphafis upon the
word one m the thirteenth line, and pro-
nounce the two fucceeding words Jiep and
lefl without any particular force ; but if
we give emphatic force to each of thefe
three words, and at the fame time paufe
con-
ELOCUTION. 107
confiderably after every word, we fhall
^nd the whole Hne glow with meaning
and energy ; for though pronouncing the
word one^ with the emphafis and rifing
inflexion, and the fucceding words Jiep
and left with the fame inflexion without
emphafis, would undoubtedly bring out
the author's fenfe ; yet pronouncing one\
and Jiep^^ both with emphafis and the
falling inflexion, feems to fnatch a grace
^ beyond the reach of art, and fall in with
the enthufiafm of the poet. The empha-
fis with the falling inflexion and increas-
ing force, on the four fucceflive words
ii'ife^ , bride^ , mijlrejs^ , unenjoyed^ , in the
lafl: line but one, crowns the whole cli-.
max with fuitable force and harmony.
Intermediate Member^
It now remains to fay fomething of an
emphatic circumfl:ance, which, though
not mentioned by any of our writers on
the
Io8 E L E M E N T S O F
the fubjedl, feems of the utmoft import*,
ance to an accurate idea of pronunciation.
It has been already obferved, that em-
phatic force is relative : it may be like-
wife obferved, that it is not relative only
with refpecft to the inferior force which is
given to the unemphatic words ; it is re-
lative alfo with refpe£t to the inflexion on
thofe words that are not emphatical ; that
is, emphafis derives as much force from
pronouncing thofe words which are not
emphatical with a peculiar inflexion, as it
docs from pronouncing the emphatic words
themfelves, with a fuitable inflexion and
greater force. Let us endeavour to illuf-
trate this by an example :
Mufl vvc, In your perfon, crown the author
of the public calamities, or inuft we deftroy
him ? Aifchlnes ai^<-i:,ift D:r)iojthencs.
Here, I fay, in order to preferve to the
iwo emphatical words, crown and d^ftroy^
that
ELOCUTION. 109
that force which the contrafi: demands,
we mull neceflarily pronounce the inter-
mediate member, the author of the public
calamities with the rifing inflexion, hke
crown^ but in a feebler, though higher
tone of voice ; this mode of pronunciation
places the oppofite parts in full view,
which would be neceflarily obfcured, if
the words author of the public calamities^
had the leaft portion either of force or va-
riety. This v/ill be farther illuftrated by
another example.
It is not he who has ftrengthened our forti-
fications, who hath digged our intrenchments,
who hath difturbed the tombs of our anceftors,
that fhould demand the honours of a patriot
minilter, but he who hath procured fome in-
trinfic fervices to the ilate.
Here the intermediate member, that Jhould
demand the honours of a patriot minifter^
which agrees both with the pofitive and
negative part of the fentence, mufl: be
pro-
no ELEMENTS OF
pronounced in fubordinatlon to the word,
ancejiors ; that is, as this word has the
emphafis with the rifing inflexion, ac-
cording to the general rule, the interme-
diate member muft have the rifmg infle-
xion likewife, in a high and feeble tone of
voice, and without any peculiar force up-
on any of the words.
Another example will render this rule
ftill clearer :
A good man will love himfclf too well to
lofe an eftate by gaming, and his neighbour
too well to win one.
In this fentence as in the two former,
there are two principal confl:ru6:ive parts,
and between thefe parts there is a member
which relates to both, and muft be pro-
nounced in fubordinatlon to both, elfe the
force of each will be loft. This member
is, an eft ate by gaming ; the firft principal
conftrudive part of this fentence ends
with the emphatic word lofc^ and as Its
con-
ELOCUTION. irr
connexion with the latter conftrudive part
neceflarily requires that it Ihould be pro*-
nounced with the rifnig inflexion, every
word of the intermediate member which
follows it, muft be pronounced with the
riling inflexion likewife : for if any em-
phafis or variety of inflexion be given to
this member, it will infallibly deprive the
correfpondent antithetic words, himfelf^
Jofe^ neighbour^ and win^ of all their force
and harmony. Every word of this mid-
dle member, therefore, mufl: be pronounc-
ed with the rifmg inflexion, in a fome-
what higher tone than the w^ord lofe^ and
nearly approaching a monotone. On the
contrary, if we were to place this member
at the end of the fentence in this 'manner,
A good man will love himfelf too well to
lofe, and his neighbour too well to win an
eftate by gaming.
In this arrangement, in order to give
force and variety to the correfpondent em-
phatic
112 ELEMENTS OF
phatic words, the fame inflexions muft
take place as before; that is, himfelf r^vSk.
have the falling, hfe the rifing, neighbour
the rifing, and ivin the falling inflexion :
and to preferve this order, which can
alone give the fentence its due precifion,
the lafl member, an eft ate hy gaming^ muft
be pronounced with the fame inflexion as
the word win^ but in a lower tone of voice,
and approaching to a monotone : for if any
force or variety is given to thefe words, it
mufl: necefl'arily be at the expence of thofe
that are alone entitled to it. The bad ef-
fed:, indeed, of pronouncing fo many
words at the end of a fentence in fo low
and feeble a tone, is apt to invite the ear to
a different pronunciation at firft, but a mo-
ment's refledion on the fenfe will induce
us rather to difpenfe with a want of found
than of meaning. The firfl: of thefe forms
of arranging the words is indifputably the
belt ; and writers would do v/ell to make
it
£ L O C U T I O Ni II j
it a riile in compofition, never to finifh a
fentence with a member that relates to
each part of a preceding antithefis ; a neg-
lect of this rule occafions many uncouth
fentences even in our beft authors.
Mr. Addifon, fpeaking of the power of
the imagination, fays,
It would be in vain to enquire whether the
power of imagining things ftrongly proceeds
any greater perfection in the foul, or from any
nicer texture in the brain of one man than of
another. SpeSl. N° 417.
In this fentence, in order to prefent
each part of the antithefis, y^;^/ and brain ^
clearly and precifely to the mind, it will
be neceffary to confine the emphatic force
to thefe words alone ; and this can be
done no other way than by laying the
rifmg inflexion on foul, and the falling on
brain, and pronouncing the lafl: member
of one man than of another, with the fame
inflexion as brain, but in a lower and al-
VoL. IL I mod
Ii4 ELEMENTS OF
moft monotonous tone of voice ; this will
neceflarily give an uncouthnefs to the
found of the fentence, but is abfolutely
neccflary to give the fenfe of it ftrongly
and clearly.
It is true, that by this mode of pronun-
ciation, the intermediate member is pre-
fented lefs clearly to the mind ; but when
we confider that the fenfe of it is nearly
anticipated by the comparative ^r^^/t^r and
nicer^ we fhall with lefs reluctance give
it up to the principal emphatic words, foul
and brain.
It muft not be diflembled, however,
that if this intermediate member contains
an emphatical word, or extends to any
length, it will be neceflary to confider it
as an eflential member of the fentence^
and to pronounce it with emphafis and
variety. Thus if the fentence juft quoted
had been conftruded in this manner :
A good
JELOCUTION. 11^
A good man will love himfeif too well to
lofe, and his neighbour too well to win^ a very
confiderable fum by gaming.
If in reading this fentence we were to
place the emphafis with the rifing infle-
xion on lofe^ and the falling on win^ and
were to pronounce the reft of the fentence
in a low monotonous tone of voice, in
the fame manner as when it contained
but half the number of fyllables, we fhouM
be both obfcure and difcordant, but as the
laft member is lengthened to double the
number of fyllables, we find it may be fo
pronounced as to form an harmonious ca-
dence. Another example will fhow the
neceffity of fometimes breaking the gene-
ral rule. Mr. Addifon, fpeaking of the
mutual polifh and refinement which the in-
tercourfe between the fexes gives each
other, concludes,
In a word : a man v/ould not only be an
unhappv, but a rude unfinilhed creature, were
I % he
Il6 ELEMENTS OF
he converfant with none but thofe of his own
make. SpeSi, N" 433.
Here we find the intermediate member
clofe the fentence, and is of fuch a length
as to forbid the feeble monotone which is
proper in other cafes. It may not, how-
ever, be ufelefs to obferve, that when
thefe intermediate members are fo long,
or of fo much importance as to demand
an emphatical pronunciation, the anti-
thefis is in fome meafure obfcured, and
the fentence is deprived of fpirit and viva-
city.
Before we conclude this article, we may
obferve, that the emphafis on oppofite
parts, which obicures the intermediate
member, is calculated more for the pur-
pofes of force than harmony ; and there-
fore ought to be obferved with Icfs rigour
in verfe than profe ; but where the former
is familiar, argimientative, and flrongly
ernphatical, it feems to recjuire the obfcure
pro-
ELOCUTION. 117
pronunciation of the intermediate mem-
ber no lefs than the latter.
EXAMPLE.
Tis hard to fay if greater want of fkill
Appear in writing or in judging ill :
But of the two iefs dangerous is tK' offence.
To tire our patience than mifiead our fenfe ;
Some few in that, but numbers err in this,
Ten cenfure wrong for one who writes amifs ;
A fool might once himfelf alone expofe.
Now one in verfe makes many more in profe.
Pope's EJfay on Crif.
In the firfl couplet of this paiTage, the
word /'//, which agrees to both the em-
phatic words, writing a.nd Judging, is pro-
nounced feebly with the falling inflexion,
after a ftrong pronunciation of the fame
inflexion on Judging. In the next coup-
let tire 2ind patienct\ mi/lead and Jenje, form,
a double emphafis, and come under the
general rule ; but in the next couplet, the
words wrong and amifs, being only difFer-
I 3 ent
Il8 ELEMENTS OF
cnt expreflions for the fame idea, are to be
confidered as an intermediate member to
the two emphatic words cenfure and write^
and pronounced feebly with the fame in-
flexions as the words they follow.
From what has been faid on this article,
it appears of how much importance to
reading and fpeaking is a judicious dillri-
bution of emphafis ; and if what has been
obferved is true, it is evident how ufeful,
and even neceifary it muft be, in teaching,
to adopt fomething like the method of
marking them here pointed out. Methods
of this kind are ufually rejedied, becaufe
at fiifl; they are found rather to embarrafs
than affiil the reader ; but this will be
found to be the cafe in every art where
improvement arifes chiefly from habit :
the principles of niulic would embarrafs
and puzzle a performer who had learned
only from the ear, but nothing but a
knowledge of thefe principles could con-
vey
ELOCUTION. 119
vey tb him the difficult paflages of a com-
pofer, and enable him to acquire them
without the affiftance of a teacher. Read-
ing, indeed, may be confidered as a fpe-
cies of mulic ; the organs of utterance
are the inftruments, but the mind itfelf is
the performer ; and, therefore, to purfue
the fimilitude, though the mind may have
a full conception of the fenfe of an author,
and be able to judge nicely of the execu-
tion of others, yet if it has not imbibed
the habit of performing on its own inftru-
ment, no expreffion will be produced.
There is a certain mechanical dexterity to
be acquired, before the beautiful concep-
tions we pofTefs can be communicated to
others. This mechanifm is an effential
part of all the fine arts. Nothing but ha-
bitual practice will give the mufician his
neatnefs of execution, the painter his force
of colouring, and even the poet the hap-
pieft choice and arrangement of his words
I 4 and
I20 E LE M EN T S O F, &c.
and thoughts. How then can we exped
that a luminous and elegant expreflion in
reading and fpeaking can be acquired
without a finiilar attention to habitual
practice ? This is the golden key to every
excellence, but can be purchafed only by
labour, unremitting labour, and perfe-i
verance.
HAR.
121
HARMONIC INFLEXION.
"pEfides that variety which neceflarily
arifes from an attention to the fore-
going rules, that is, from annexing cer-
tain inflexions to fentences of a particular
import or flrudlure, there is ftill another
fource of variety, in thofe parts of a fen-
tence where the fenfe is not at all con-
cerned, and where the variety is merely
to pleafe the ear. It is certain, that if the
fenfe of a fentence is jftrongly conveyed,
it will feldom be inharmonioully pro-
nounced ; but it is as certain, there are
many members of fentences which may
be differently pronounced without affed:-
jng the fenfe, but which cannot be differ-
ently pronounced without greatly afFe(£t-
ing their variety and harmony. Thus in
the following fentence :
A§ we perceive the Ihadovv to have moved
^long the dial-plate^ but did not perceive it
moving ;
122 ELEMENTS OF
moving; and it appears that the grafs has
grown^ though nobody ever faw it grow^: fo
the advances we make in knowledge^, as they
confifl: of fuch minute llcps are only perceiv-
able by the diftance^ .
In this fentence, provided we do not
drop the voice before the end, the fenle of
the fentence is not at all concerned in any
of the inflexions, except that on grow in
the middle, which muft neceflarily be the
rifing, and that on dljiance at the end,
w^hich muft be the falling inflexion : if
thefe inflexions are preferred on thefe
words, the reft may take their chance, and
the fenfe will be fcarcely affedted ; but
the duUeft ear muft perceive an infinite
advantage to the harmony in placing the
falling inflexion on grown in the firft part
of the fentence, and on knowledge in the
laft : and fo natural is this pronunciation,
that there are few readers fo bad as not
to place thefe inflexions on thefe words
ivithout any other guide than the ear.
This
ELOCUTION. 123
This part of pronunciation, therefore,
though of little importance to the fenfe,
is of the utmoft importance to the har-
mony of a fentence. Every writer on the
fubjed: has left it entirely to the ear ; and,
indeed, fo nice are the principles on which
harmony and variety in pronunciation de-
pend, that it is no wonder any analylis of
it has been fhifted off, and clafTed among
thofe things for which it is utterly impof-
fible to give rules. But, as we have of-
ten obferved, though the varieties of voice,
in other refpeds are almoft infinite, all
thefe varieties are Hill reducible to two ra*-
dical and eflential differences, the upward
and downward Hide or inflexion ; and
therefore, though the high and low, the
the loud and foft, the quick and flow, the
forcible and feeble, admit of almoft infi-
nite degrees, every one of thefe diff'er-
ences and degrees muft either adopt the
riling or falling inflexion of voice ; and
thefe
124 ELEMENTS OF
tliefe inflexions being more effential to the
fenfe and harmony than any, or all the
other differences, we have in the diftinc-
tion of the voice into the riling and fall-
ing inflexion, a key to part of the har-
mony and variety fo much admired, and,
it may be added, a very eflential part. If
therefore no rules could be given for the
application of thefe inflexions to the pur-
pofes of harmony and variety, the prac-
ticability of marking upon paper thofe
which arc adually made ufe of by good
readers and fpeakers, would be of the ut-
moft importance to elocution ; but in this
as well as in other cafes, an attempt will
be made to chalk out fome rules, which
it is hoped will not be entirely ufelefs.
TreUminary Ohferi-ations.
When flmilar members of fentences do
not run into fuch a feries, as brings them
into the enumerative form ; the voice,
both
ELOCUTION. 125
both to relieve the ear, and imprefs the
fenfe, falls naturally into a fucceffion of
inflexions, which is fomething fimilar to,
that ufed in the feries, and at once gives
force and variety : thefe inflexions fome-
times take place at the beginning of a fen-
tence, where the members are fimilar ; but
mofl: commonly near the end, when the
fentence is concluding with feveral fimilar
members, which, without this inflexion on
fome particular words, would difguft the
ear by a fucceffion of fimilar founds.
This inflexion, from the obvious ufe of it,
we may call the Harmonic Inflexion.
Difficult, and, perhaps, impoffible as it
is to defcribe founds upon paper to thofe
who are wholly unacquainted with them,
the taflc is not quite fo arduous when we
addrefs thofe who have a general idea of
what we attempt to convey. If the na-
ture of the rifing and falling inflexions
has been fufficiently conceived, the ufe of
them
126 ELEMENTS OF
them in this particular will be cafily point-
ed out. The harmonic intlexion then is
ufing the riling and falling inflexion of
the voice upon fuccelTive words, princi-
pally, to pleaie the ear, and break a conti-
nued chain of fimilar paufes. For the
rifing inflexion of the voice has nothing
emphatical in it, nor the falling any thing
concluding. As this latter inflexion, and
the fmall paufe that accompanies it, often
takes place on words that are immediately
conned;ed in fenfe with what follows, it
feems barely a refting place for the voice
and ear, and fuch an enforcing of the
fenfe as naturally arifes from a more deli-
berate pronunciation of the words. That
the voice may be in the falling inflexion
without marking a conclufion in the fenfe,
and even while it excites expectation of
fomething to follow, is evident from the
pronunciation of the firfl member of a fer-
ries ; but this falling inflexion of the
voice
ELOCUTION. 127
voice is effentially different from that
which we commonly ufe when we con-
clude a fentence ; for, in the former cafe,
as has been already obferved, the voice is
palpably raifed higher than on the pre-
ceding words, though ending with the
falling inflexion * ; in the latter, it falls
gradually lower on feveral of the preced-
ing words, and may properly be faid to
drop. An example will contribute greatly
to the comprehending of this marking in-
flexion, fo neceffary to the variety and
harmony of a fentence.
We may obferve, that any fingle circiim-
ftance of what we have formerly feen often,
raifes up a Whole fccne of imagery, and awakens
numberlefs ideas that before flept in the ima-
gination ; fuch a particular fmell or colour is
able to fill the mind on a fudden with a pic-
ture of the fields or gardens where we firft met
with it; and to hring^ up mx.o ykzv^ y all the
variety of images that once attended it.
SpeBatory N'^417..
■* See Vol. r, p. 141, 1:^5, 149.
128 ELEMENTS OF
We may here obferve, that the former'
part of this letter has a fucceffion of fimi-
lar paufes till it comes to the femicolon,
(which, from the complete fenfe it forms,
might as well have been marked by a co-
lon), and that the fucceeding part of the
fentence runs exactly into the fame fuc-
ceffion of fimilar paufes ; which, if pro-
nounced exadly alike, wonld offend the
ear by a monotony. - A good reader,
therefore, folicitous to avoid a famenefs
of found, throws his voice into the rif-
ing inflexion upon brings and into the
falling upon vieio^ by which means a va-
riety is introduced, and the period ends
more harmoniouily from the preparation
made for it by the harmonic inflexion.
Another inftance where this inflexion
may be repeated fucceffively, is, perhaps,
better calculated to convey an idea of it.
V/e may It-arn from tliis obicrvation which
we have made on the liiir.d of man, to take
par-
.fe L O C U T I O Ni 120
pariicular care, when we have once fettled in
a regular courfe of life, how we too frequently
indulge ourfclves in any the mod innocent di-
verfions and entertainments ; fince the mind
may infenfibly fall off from the reliih of vir-
tuous adtions, and by degrees-^ exchange^ that''
pleafure^, which it takes in the performance
of its duty, for delights of a much more infe-
rior and unprofitable nature. SpcB. N*^ 447.
In this example, we have the fame fuc-
ceflion of fimilar paufes as in the laft ; and
though the voice may very properly fix it-
felf in the falling inflexion on the word efi^
tertainments^ and by that means jccafion
fome variety, yet the fubfequent part of
the period proceeds by fimilar paufes as
well as the former, and therefore, the har-
monic inflexion introduced upon the words
degrees and exchange^ and upon that^ and
plea fur c^ that is, the rifing inflexion upon
degrees and that^ and the falling inflexion
upon exchange and plea fur e ; by this means,
I fay, the monotony will be broken, the
Vol. IL K thought
I30 ELEMENTS OF
thought enforced, and the period render-
ed much more mufical.
One example more, where this inflexion
may be oftener repeated, will ftill better
enable us to fhow the real nature and ufe
of it.
I muil confefs I think it below reafonable
creatures to be altogether converfant in fucli
diverfions as are merely innocent, and have
nothing elfe to recommend them but that there
13 no hurt in them. Whether any kind of
gaming has even thus much to fay for itfelf, I
fhall not determine ; but I think it is very won-
derful to fee perfons of the heft/ i'enk^ pafling^
away^ a dozen/ hours together^ in fhuffling''
and dividing^ a pack of cards, with no othcr^
converfation"^ but what is made up of a few
game phrafes, and no other ideas, but thofe
of black and red fpots ranged together in dif-
ferent figures. Spe^, N'^ 93.
The neceffity of introducing the harmonic
inflexion in the latter part of this fentence
will better appear, by firfl reading it in
the
ELOCUTION. 131
the Common manner, and afterwards with
the inflexion we have been defcribing ;
this will ihow the difficulty of avoiding
a monotony without adopting this infle-
xion, and the variety and force it gives
to the language and fentiment when it is
adopted. The words bejl and fenfe ; paf-
Jing and away ; dozen and together ; Jhuf-
fling and dividing ; other and converflition ;
thefe words, I fay, will be very apt to
drag, and produce a famenefs of found if
pronounced in the common way ; but if
the rifmg inflexion is ufed on the firft,
and the falling on the lafl: of every pair,
the monotony will be prevented, and a
fucceffion of founds introduced, very de-
fcriptive of the repetition conveyed by
the words.
Having thus endeavoured to convey a
general ideaof theneceffityofthis inflexion,
we Ihall attempt to reduce the ufe of it
to a few general rules.
K 2 Rule
132 ELEMENTS OF
Rule I. When fimilar members fucceed
each other at the beginning of a fentence,
and commence a frclh fubjed, or a dif--
tinfk part of a fubje(3:, the harmonic in-
flexion is better omitted.
EXAMPLES.
Thofa who arc under the great officers of
flate, and arc the inflruments by which they
ad:, have more frc(}ucnt opportunities for the
cxercifc of companion and benevolence, than
their fupcriors thcn:lclves. Spc^l. N*^ 469.
In this example, the firft member com-
mences a paragraph, and therefore the
harmonic inflexion fliould not be ufed on
officers of f. ate : but in the next example,
where a fimilar member of a fentence is
preceded by three nearly flmilar periods,
this inflexion falls very properly on the
firft member of the laft of the fucceeding
fentences : that is the riflng inflexion on
the word plea/tire^ and the falling on
the word prcfcnt ; and the falling infle-
xion
ELOCUTION. 133
x'lon on happinefs^ and the rifing on herc^
after,
EXAMPLE.
There is nothing which ftrengthens faith
more than morality : faith and morality natu-
rally produce each other. A man is quickly
convinced of the truth of religion who finds
it not againft his intereft that it (hould be true,
Tht pie af lire ^ he receives at prefent^, and the
happinefs^ which he promifes himfelf from it
hercaftir^^ will both difpofe him very power-
fully to give credit to it, according to the or-
dinary obfervation, that we are eafy to believe
what we wifh. Spe^i. N° 465.
Were a human foul thus at a ftand in her
accompliiliments, were her faculties to be full
blown and incapable of further enlargements,
I could imagine it might fall away infenlibly,
and drop at once into a liate of annihilation.
But can we believe a thinking being, that is
in a perpetual progrefs^ of improvements^,
and travelling on trom perfe6:ion to perfection,
iifrer having juft looked abroad into the works'^
of his Creator"^, and made a few difcoveries
K 3 of
134 ELEMENTS OF
of his infinite goodncfs, wifdom, and power,
mnft perifh at her firft fetting out, and in the
very beginning of her enquiries ? SpeB. N° 1 1 1 .
In this laft example, the words p^ogrefs^
hoth^ and itnprovemcnts^ come under the
above mentioned rule, and may very pro-
perly have the harmonic inflexion ; and
as the word works and Creator in the next
member but one are under the fame pre-
dicament, it will add greatly to the variety
of this concluding fentence to pronounce
thefe alfo with the fame inflexion.
But the great objed: of the harmonic
inflexion is forming the cadence : here it
is, that harmony and variety are more pe-
culiarly necelTary, as the ear is more par-
ticularly afl'eded by the clofe of a fubjedl,
or any branch of a fubjedt, than by any
other part of the compofition. AVe have
had frequent occafion to obferve, that
though a feries of fentences may all re-
quire to be pronounced with the falling
infle-
ELOCUTION. 135
inflexion ; yet if they all belong to one
fubje£i:, or one branch of a fubjed:, ufu-
ally called a paragraph, that the laft of
them only demands that depreffion of
voice which marks a conclufion : to which
obfervation we may add this general rule.
Rule II. When a feries of fimilar fen-
tences, or members of fentences, form a
branch of a fubjed; or paragraph ; the
laft fentence or member muft fall gradu-
ally into a lower tone, and adopt the har-
monic inflexion, on fuch words as form
the moft agreeable cadence.
EXAMPLE.
One of the moft eminent mathematicians
of the age has afiured me, that the greateft
pleafure he took in reading Virgil was in exa-
mining j^neas's voyage by the map; as I
qvieftion not but many a modern compiler of
hiftory would be delighted with little / more^
in that divine^ author ^ than in the bare mat-
ters of fadt. Spe8. N° ^09.
K 4 Here
136 ELEMENTS OF
Here we. find placing the rifing infle*
xion upon the word little, and the falling
upon more ; and the falling upon divine^
and the rifing upon author^ gives both a
diilindinefs and harmony to the cadence.
Gratian very often recommends the fine
tafte as the utmoil: perfedion of an accom-
plifhed man. As this word arifes very often
in converfation, I Ihall endeavour to give fome
account of it ; and to lay down rules how we
rnay know whether we are poiTeffcd of it, and
how/ we may acquire^ that finc"^ raftc of writ-
ing/, which is fo much talked of among the
polite world. ZpeH. N^ 109.
Placing the rifing inflexion upon the
word hoiv^ and the falling upon the word
acquire ; the falling inflexion upon the
word^;?^-, and the rifing upon "writings
prevents a lamenefs which would other-
wife arife from the fimilitude of the three
members, and gives an agreeable clofe to
the fentence.
Oiii
ELOCUTION. 137
Our general tafte in England is for epigram,
turns of wit, and forced conceits; which have
no manner of influence either for the bettering
or enlarging the mind of him who reads them,
and have been carefully ^ avoided^ by the
greateft^ writers^ both ancient and modern.
SpeBalor, N^ ^09.
In this iiiftance, by giving the word
carefully the riimg, avoided the falling,
great eft the falling, and writers the rifing
jniiexion, we produce a various and har-
monious fall to the period.
I would have cv^^ry zealous man examine
his heart thoroughly, and I believe he will of-
ten^fino^, that what he calls a zeal for his
religion, is either pride, intereft, or ill nature.
Spetlator, N^. 185.
The word ofteJi having the rifmg, and
find the falling inflexion, gives a peculiar
energy, as well as harmony, to this fen-
tence.
And that this temper of mind deludes a man
yery often into an opinion of his zeal, may
appear
138 ELEMENTS OF
appear from the common behaviour of the
atheifl ; who maintains, and fpreads^ his opi-
nions^ with as much^ heat^ as thofe who be-
lieve they do it only out of a paffion for God's
glory. Spea.N'^ids,
Throwing the harmonic Inflexion on the
words Jpreads and opmions^ and much and
heat^ adds greatly to the variety and har-
mony of this period.
Since I have mentioned this unaccountable
zeal which appears in atheids and infidels, 1
muft farther obferve, that they are likewife in
a mod particular manner poiTeffed with the
fpirit of bigotry. They arc wedded ^ to opi-
nions^ full of contradicflion^ and impoflibility ^,
and at the fame/ tinie^ look upon the fmall-
eft/ difficulty^ in an article^ of faith/ as a
fufficient reafon for rejcdling it.
Spetlaior, N^ 185,
As the rifmg inflexion on the word
n^edded^ and the falling on the word opi-
7iions^ the falling on contradidiion^ and the
rif-
ELOCUTION. 139
rifing on impojjibility^ prevents a famenefs
in the firll member of the laft fentencc
arifmg from its fimilitude to the clofmg
member of the firft, fo the rifmg inflexion
upon the Yiox&sfame diuAJmalleft^ and the
falling upon time and difficulty^ and the
falling upon article^ and the rifmg upon.
faith ; this arrangement of inflexions, I
fay, on the latter part of the fentence,
gives a force, harmony, and variety, to
the cadence.
We may be fure the metaphorical word
tafte would not have been fo general in all
tongues, had there not been a very great con-
formity between that mental tafte, which is
the fubjed: of this paper, and that fenfitive
taHe which gives us a relilh of every different
flavour that affed:s the palate. Accordingly^
we find^, there are as many degrees of refine-
ment^ in the intelle(ftual faculty, as in the
fenfe which is marked out by this commoa
denomination. Spe^. N«* 409.
If
140 ELEMENTS OF
If we do but place the rifing inflexion
on accordingly i and the falUng on find, the
rifing on many^ and the faUing on refine-
ment^ in the laft fentence, we fhall per-
ceive a great variety, as well as precifion
and harmony, added to the whole paf-
fage.
li A R-
ELOCUTION. 141
HARMONY OF PROSE.
npHE foregoing obfervations on the har-
mony of the cadence, have, undoubt-
edly, fuggefted to the reader, that great
object of ancient and modern compofition,
the harmony of profe ; this is a fubjed; fo
intimately connected with harmonious
pronunciation, that it feems neceflary to
inveftigate the principles of that compo-
fition which is generally efteemed harmo-
nious, in order, if pofTible, to throw feme
light upon the moft accurate mode of de-
livering it.
The ancients thought harmonious prole
to be only a loofer kind of numbers, and
refolved many paiTages of their moft cele-
brated orations into fuch feet as compofed
verfe. In modern languages, where ac-
cent ftands for the quantity of the anci-
ents, w^e find harmonious profe refolvable
into an arrangement of accented fyllables,
lb me-
142 ELEMENTS OF
"fomewhat fimilar to that of verfificatlon.
The return of the accented fyllable at cer-
tain intervals feems the common defini-
tion of both.
In verfe we find thefe intervals nearly-
equal ; and it is this equality which forms
the meafure. Thus in the following
couplet :
Short is the date, alas! of modern rhymes ;
And 'cIs but juft to let them live betimes.
Pope.
An undifclplined reader in pronouncing
this fentence, would be apt, from the
greater fmoothnefs of the line, to lay the
accent, or metrical emphafis as it may be
called, on the word is in the firft line ;
but as this vv^ould bring forward a word,
which, from its nature is always fuffici-
ently underftood, a good reader will place
the accent onfiort and date^ and fink the
words is the into a comparative obfcurity ;
and as this interval of two fyllables hap-
pens
ELOCUTION. 143
pens at the beginning of a line, it is fo
far from having a bad efFedt on the ear,
that it frequently relieves it from the too
great famenefs to which rhyming verfe is
always liable.
But if this inequality of interval is fome-
times for the fake of variety neceffary in
verfe, it is not to be wondered, that for a
fimilar reafon, we avoid as much as pof-
fible too great a regularity of interval be-
tween the accented fyllables in profe.
Loofe and negligent, however, as profe
may appear, it is not entirely deftitute of
meafure : for it may be with confidence
aiferted, that, wherever a ftyle is remark-
ably fmooth and flowing, it is owing in
fome meafure to a regular return of ac-
cented fyllables. And though a flrength
and feverity of ftyle has in it fomethi ng
more excellent than the foft and flowing,
yet the latter holds certainly a diftinguifh-
ed rank in compofitiou. The mufic of
Ian-
144 ELEMENTS OF
language never difpleafes us, but wlien* ;
fenfe is facrificed to found ; when both are
compatible, we fliould deprive a thought
of half its beauty, not to give it all the
harmony of which language is fufceptible.
As all fubjeds are not mafculine, fublime,
and llrong ; all fubjed:s do not require,
and, indeed, are not fuited to a ftrength
and feverity of ftyle. Thofe, therefore,
which are beautiful, didadic, and per-
fuafive, demand a fmoothncfs and ele-
gance of language ; which is not only
agreeable, as it is fuited to the objeds it
conveys, but, like fine colours oi' founds,
is, in fome mcafure, pleafing for its
own fake. Accordingly, wc find, that,
though we cannot fo eafily trace that ac-
centual rhythmus, which forms the har-
mony of the beginning and middle of a
fentence, yet the latter part, or what is
commonly called the cadence, confills.
(when harmonioufly couflrudcd) of fuch
ark
ELOCUTION. 145
an arrangement of accented words, as ap-
proaches nearly to verfe. Every ear will
immediately find a ruggednefs and want
of harmony in the conclufion of the fol-
lowing fentence.
We are always complaining our days are few,
and acting as though there v/culd be no end
of them. Addifo-n.
The reafon of this harflinefs feems to be,
that vaft chafm of unaccented words that
extends from the word aciing^ to the word
end. The ear, indeed, fenfible of the
want of accent, lays a little ftrefs upon
though^ but this does not quite remedy
the evil ; ftill there are fdur words unac-
cented, and the fentence remains harfh ;
but if we alter its ftructure, by placing a
word that admits of an accent in the mid-
dle of thefe four words, we fhall find har-
mony fucceed to harfhnefs and inequality.
We are alwavs comnlainina; our davs are
few, and ailing as though there would never be
an end of them.
Vol. II. L This
146 ELEMENTS OF
This difference, therefore, can arife from
nothing but an unequal and unmetrical
arrangement of accent in the former fen-
tence, and a greater approach to equal and
metrical arrangement of accent in the lat-
ter.
As a farther corroboration of the truth
of this opinion, let us take a fentence re-
markable for its harmony, and try whe-
ther it arifes from the foregoing principles.
We hear at this diftance but a faint echo of
that thunder in Demofthcnes, which fhook the
throne of Macedon to its foundations ; and
are fometimes at a lofs for that convidtion in
the arguments of Cicero, that ballanced in the
midfl of convulfions the tottering republic of
Rome.
In the latter part of this fentence, we
find the accented fyllables at exa6l:ly equal
intervals from the word fometimes to the
word midjl \ that is, there arc three un-
accented fyllables between every accented
ELOCUTION. J47
fyllable ; and from the word midft to the
word Rome^ there is an exadl equality of
intervals, that is, two unaccented fyllables,
or, which is perfedly equivalent, fyllables
^6nounced in the time of two, to one
unaccented.
Now if we change a few of the words
of this fentence to others fof different
length and accent, we fhall iind the har-
mony of the fentence coniiderably dimi-
niflied, though the fenfe may be inviola-
bly preferved.
We hear at this diflance but a faint echo of
that thunder in Demofthenes which Ihook the
throne of Macedon to its foundations ; and
are fomctimes~ at a lofs for that force in the
proofs of Cicero, which balanced in the midfl
of anarchy the tottering ftate of Rome.
That full flow of profaic harmony, fo per-
ceptible in the former fentence, is greatly
diminifhed in this : and the reafon feems
plainly pointed out : for as the harmony
L 2 of
148 ELEMENTS OF
of verfe is owing folely to an equal and
regular return of accent, the harmony of
profe muft arife from the fame Tource :
that is, as verfe owes its harmony entirely
to a regular return of accent, profe can
never be harmonious by a total want of
it. The fole difference between them
feems to lie in the conftant, regular, and
artificial arrangement of accent in the one,
and the unftudied, various, and even op-
pofite arrangement in the other. Verfe>
with fome few exceptions, proceeds in a
regular alternation of accent, from one
end of the poem to the other ; harmoni-
ous profe, on the contrary, in fome mem-
bers, adopts one fpecies of arrangement,
and in fome another ; but always fo as to
avoid fuch clufters of accents in one place,
and fuch a total abfence of them in another,
as neceffarily occafions a ruggednefs and
difficulty of pronunciation.
At
ELOCUTION. 149
At firft fight, perhaps, we fhould be
led to fuppofe, that the intervals between
the accents ought rather to dimini/h than
increafe as they approach the end of a fen-
tence ; and yet, if we confuk the ear, we
fhall find that intervals of two unaccented
fyllables found better even in the clofmg
member of a fentence, than intervals of
one unaccented ,fyllable only. Let us
take the following fentence as an example
of this.
Demetrius compares profperity to the indul-
gence of a fond mother to a child, which of-
ten proves his ruin ; but the affedlion of the di-
vine Being to that of a wife father, who would
have his fons exercifed in labour, difappoint-
ment, and pain, that they may gather ftrength
and fortitude.
Now if inftead of the Y^ovdi Jirength^
we fubftitute experience^ though the fenfe
may be weakened, the found will, per-
haps, be improved ; and if the ears of
L 3 others
150 ELEMENTS OF
others fhould agree with mine in this par-
ticular, it may be laid down as a rule,
that other circumftances being equal, the
lafl: members of fentences, ought rather to
end in the dadylic than in the iambic
r::carure. In this appellation of the mea-
fiire of profe, I adopt the terms generally
made ufe of, and particularly by Mafon,
in his EiTay on Profaic Numbers. This
gentleman deferves much praife for his
attempt to inveftigate the caufcs of profaic
harmony, but appears to me to have an
idea of Englifh metre fo blended with that
of the Latin and Greek, as to throw con-
fufion and error over his whole perform-
ance. For what can we make of his
placing two long quantities over the two
fyllables of the words sentence and fpondee ?
Thefe words can have but one accent each,
and it is accent, or emphafis, and thefe
only, and not any length or opennefs of
the vowels that forms Englifh metre, or
that
ELOCUTION, 151
that rhythmus which is analogous to it in
profe.
Hitherto i have confidered poetic and
profaic harmony as arifing from an har-
monious and rhythmical arrangement of
accent ; and it is with fome diffidence I
venture upon a farther explication of this
fubje£t upon principles which have never
yet been thought of : but I prefume it will
be found, upon enquiry, that the various
and harmonious arrangement of the rifmg
and falling inflexions of the voice is no
iefs the caufe of harmony, both in verfe
and profe, than the metrical arrangement
vf accent and emphalis.
L4 HAR.
T52
ELEMENTS OF
HARMONY OF PROSAIC INFLEXIONS,
npHE melody both of profe and verfe
feems to confift as much in fuch an
arrangement of emphatic inflexion, as
fuits the fenfe, and is agreeable to the ear,
as it does in a rhythmical difpofition of
accented and emphatic fyllables. To il-
luftrate this obfervation, let us take the
famous couplet of Sir John Denham, in
Praife of the Thames, marked with the
long and fhort quantities by Mr. Mafon,
in his EiTay on the Principles of Har-
mony, p. 60.
Though deep j yet clear, | though gen | tie yet
not dull,
Strong with | outrage; j without j overflow- |
ing full.
Mr. Mafon, by the long quantity m.cans
the accented, and by the fhort quantity
the unaccented fyllable ; and if we do but
read this couplet v.'iUi the fame inflexions
upon
ELOCUTION. 153
upon every fyllable marked with the long
quantity, we fhall foon fee how much it
owes its harmony to a diverfity of infle-
xion, rhythmically arranged. And firft
let us read this couplet by placing the ac-
cent or emphafis with the rifmg inflexion
on every fyllable marked with long quantity.
Though deep'^ yet clear -^^ though gen^tle yet
not dulK
Strong/ without rage''; without^ o'erflovv ''ing
full/.
In this mode of reading the couplet, we
form a fl:refs on nearly alternate fyllables,
which confl;itutes th^ eflence of poetry, but
by a perfedt famenefs'of inflexion on the
accented fyllables we reduce it to a mono-
tony worfe than the mofl; inharmonious
profe. If we give the falling inflexion to
each accented word in this manner ;
Though deep\ yet clear^, though gen^tle yet
not duli^,
^trong^ without rage^; without^ o'erflow^ing
fuUA
We
r54 ELEMENTS OF
We (hall find a monotony as difgufting as
the former. But if we preferve the fame
fyllables accented, and only alter the in-
flexion, we fliall foon fee diverfity and
harmony inftead of famenefs and monotony.
Though dcep-^ yet clear^, though gen'^tlcyet
not^ dulK,
Strong^ without rage'; without^ o'erflow^ing
full\.
By placing the accent or emphafis with the
rifing inflexion on deep^ the falling on
clear and gentle^ and the rifing on not and
</«//, in the firft line ; and the accent or em- ■
phafis with the falling inflexion on Jlrong^
the rifing on ragc^ and the fecond fyllable
of 0 erjiowing^ and the falling owfuil in the
lafl: line ; by this difpofition of inflexion,
I fay, we give that harmonious variety
which conftitutes the principal beauty of
poetical or profaic pronunciation.
This diverfity in the arrangement of
inflexion is not peculiar to thefe celebrated
verfes
ELOCUTION. ij^
verfes ; we find almoft every fmooth har-
monious couplet has nearly the fame order
of inflexions. Thus in Pope's Prologue to
Cato :
A brave/ man ftrug^gling in the florms^ of
fate/.
And great^ly falKing with a falKing HateA
The firft line of this couplet ends with the
rifmg inflexion, to prevent the want of
harmony there would be in ending two
fucceflive lines with the fame inflexion ;
a famenefs for which nothing but empha-
fis will ever apologize. As this line ends
with the rifmg inflexion, the laft word
may not improperly be called the rudder,
which diredts the inflexions on the pre-
ceding words : for in order to prevent
an exa£t return of the fame order of in-
flexion, it is not fufficient that the diff^er-
ent inflexions fucceed each other alter-
nately, this would be like the fucceflive
founds of the letters A, B ; A, B ; to
pre-
ic6 ELEMENTS OF
./
prevent a return of founds fo little various,
we find the ear generally adopt a fuccef-
fion of inflexion, v^hich interpofes two fi-
milar inPiexions between two fimilar in-
Bexions, and this produces a variety fimi^-
lar to the feries
A, B, B, A; or B, A, A, B.
The firft line, therefore, of this verfe,
neceffariiy ending with the rifing inflexion
on the v^ord fate, in order to make the
Gther words as various and harmonious
as poflible, the falling inflexion is placed
on Jl or ms, the fame inflexion onjiruggling,
and the rifmg inflexion on brave -, and
this, in the firfl: line forms the arrange-
ment, rifing, falling, falling, rifmg ; or
A, B, B, A.
The next line ending the fentence, ne-
teflarily adopts the falling inflexion on the
iaft; viovdjlate, and this direds the rifmg
inflexion to be placed on the two words
Jailing, and the fafling inflexion on greatly,
which
E L O C U T I O N. 157
which produces this order, fallings ^Ifi^Zt
rifmg^ fallings or B, A; A, B. This or-
der of placing theinflexions is not inva-
riably adopted, becaufe emphafis fets afide
every other rule, and makes harmony
fubferyient to fenfe ; but it may be aflert-
ed, that this order of arranging the infle-
xions is fo generally adopted by the ear,
that when emphafis does not forbid, this
is the arrangement into which the verfe
naturally glides. It may likewlfe be ob-
ferved, that where emphafis coincides with
this arrangement, the verfe is always the
moil harmonious, and the fenfe in its moll
poetical drefs. Nay, we fhall find harmo-
nious profe where emphafis does not in-
terrupt the natural current of inflexion,
glide infenfibly into this rhythmical ar-
rangement of inflexion. Let us take an
example :
Exereife'^ and temperance'' ftrengthen'' the
conftitution.'^.
Agree-
158 ELEMENTS OF
Agreeably to the order we have juft taken
notice of, we find this fentence adopt the
falling inflexion on exercife^ the rifing on
temperance dindijlrengthen^ and the falling
on conftitution ; but if we add another
member to this fentence, fo conne(5led
with this, as to require the rifmg infle-
xion on conftitution^ we fhall find that the
arrangement of inflexion is changed, but
the fame order preferved.
EXAMPLE.
Exercifc' and temperance^ ftrengthen^ the
conditution^ and fwecten^ the enjoyments'^ of
life\.
Here, I fay, contrary to the former ar-
rangement, we find the rifmg inflexion
on exercife, the falling on temperance and
ftrengthen^ and the rifing on conftitution ;
becaufe here the fenfe remains fufpended
and unfiniflied. See Vol. 1. Plate I. N° 4.
A final member fucceeds, confifting of
three fignificant words 3 the two laft: of
which
ELOCUTION, 159
which muft always be pronounced with
different inflexions ; that is, the penulti-
mate with the rifing, and the ultimate
with the falling inflexion ; but the anti-
penultimate vfovd-fweeten^ may adopt ei-
ther the rifmg or falling inflexion, as ei-
ther will diverfify it fufEciently from the
preceding and fucceeding inflexions ; but
the falling inflexion on this word feems
to be preferable, as the three vjoxdi^ fweet en y
enjoyment y and life^ form one difl:ind: por-
tion ; and this portion can be no way fo
varioufly pronounced as by the falling in-
flexion on fweeten^ the riling on enjoy-
ments^ and the falling on life.
But to fliow how much the harmony of
profe arifes from the diff^erent order and
arrangement of the inflexions, let us read
the lafl: fentence with the lafl: member cur-
tailed in this manner.
Exercife^ and temperance^ ftrengthen"^ the
conilitution^ and fvveeten'' life'^.
Here
l6o ELEMENTS OF
Here we find almoft all the harmony va-
nifhed, though we give the rifing infle-
xion tofweeten^ and the falling to life^ as
in the former conftrudion of this fentence ;
ifj however, we lay a ftrong emphafis
with the falling inflexion on and^ the ear
will be a little relieved by a divcrfity of
found, though good fenfe will be hurt at
the fl:refs on fo infigniflcant a word. But
what can be the reafon that this flrefs
fliould occafion fo great a difference in the
found of the fentence ? This may be worth
enquiry ; for which purpofe, let us lengthen
the laft fentence by the interpofition of two
accented words in the middle, in this
manner ;
Exercife/ and temperance^ are the medi-
cine^ of nature^, they ftrengthen^ the confli-
tutlon'^ and fwccten^ lifc"^.
Here VvX find harmony in fomc nieafure
reftored to the fentence ; and if we en-
quire into the caufc, wc [liall find it is by
the
ELOCUTION. i6r
the introduQiion of a greater variety of
inflexion : for in the former fentence, wd
find the inflexions were rifing upon exer^
cife^ falling upon temperance 2.xAjlrengthen^
rifing upon conjlitut'ion and fweeten^ and
falling upon life. As this fentence natu-
rally falls into three portions, each por-
tion confifliing of two accented words, the
order is equivalent to the feries of letters
A, B ; B, A ; A, B.
but the additional accented words in the
lafl: fentence makes the feries equivalent
to thefe letters
A, B ; B, A ; B, A ; A, B.
in this order of inflexion, we find mucli
greater variety ; for after the four firft
have been repeated in one fpecies of ar-
rangement, the next four aflume a fpe-
cies of arrangement diredly oppofite to
the other ; and fo as to fprra an harmo-
nious or regular variety. This is the
rhythmus of inflexion, which commonly
Vol. IL M pre-.
l62 ELEMENTS OF
prevails in the couplet of ten fyllables ;
which, in fome meafure, fhows us, that
however different profe and poetry may
be in the arrangement of accented fylla-
bles, yet, in the harmonious pronuncia-
tion of them, the inflexions are very fi-
milar.
This too may ferve to fhow the reafon
why the harmony of this fenten.ce :
Hope^ and fcar^ rule"^ the heart-^ and go-
vern'' life^.
is very inferior to the following :
Hope^ and fear^ rule^ the heart^ and fhapc'
the courfe'^ of life^.
In the former fentence, the inflexions are,
Rifmg, faUing ; falling, rifmg ; rili-ng,
falling; or,
A, B ; B, A ; A, B.
and in the latter,
Rifmg, falling; falling, rifmg ; rifmg, rif-
ing, falhng; or,
A, B ; B, A ; A, A, B.
ELOCUTION. 163
Whatever, therefore, may be the order of
arrangement in the commencement and
middle of a fentence, it is certain, that
if we mean to form an harmonious ca-
dence, one of thefe two arrangements of
inflexion ought to take place at the end of
a fentence : that is, if the laft member
confifls of four accented words, the fame
inflexions ought to take place at the end
of a fentence, as we find generally obtain
in the lafl: line of a couplet in poetry ; or
if the laft member confift of three ac-
cented words, fuch inflexions ought to be
adopted as will make a feries of three in-
flexions moft various, which is, by giv-
ing the laft word the falling, the penulti-
mate the rifing, and the antipenultimate
either the rifing or falling inflexion.
An inftance of the firft arrangement is
the following fentence :
The immortality of the foul is the bafis of
morality, and the fource of all the pleafing'^'
M 2 hoptrs^
i64 ELEMENTS OF
hopes^^ and fecret^ joys^, that can arife^ In the
heart'' of a reafonable^ creature^.
Spe^ator, N" iii.
In the laft member but one of this itrh-
tence^ the words pleafmg 2iX\,^joys have the
rifmg inflexion, and hopes and fecret the
falling ; and in the laft member, the words
arife and creature have the falling, and
heari and reafonable the riling inflexion^
which is exadly the order of inflexion in
the laft couplet of the tragedy of Cato :
Produces'' fraud^ and cruelty^ and ftrife/
And robs the guilty^ world/ of Cato's'^ life^.
where produces and ftrife have the rifing
inflexion, 7xn(k fraud and cruelty the fall-
ing ; and guilty and life the falling, and
world and Cato the rifing inflexion.
An inftance of the other arrangement
we find in this fentence :
Cicero "concludes his celebrated books de
Oratore, with fome precepts for pronunciation
and action ; without which part he affirms,
that
ELOCUTION. 165
that the bell orator in the world can never
liicceed, and an indifferent one, who is mailer
of this, lliail gain mucii^ greater-^ app la ufe^.
In order to pronounce this fentence with
an harmonious cadence, the word this muft
have the rifing inflexion, as at the end
of the firft line of a couplet, and the three
iaft words, much greater apphiufe^ which
form the Iaft member, muft be pronounced
very diftindlly with the falling inflexion
on the Iaft, the riling inflexion on greater^
and the falling on jnucL
The rule, therefore, that arifes from
thefe obfervations is, tliat when the Iaft
paufe neceflarily leaves the Iaft member
of a fentence with four accented words,
as in the firft example, they are pronounced
with the inflexions in the oicditr fallings
rljing^ rifuig falling ; and when the paufe
leaves three accented words in the Iaft
member, they are pronounced as in the
Uft example j that is, either in the order,
M 3 fall-
'l66 ELEMENTS OF
falling^ rifmg, f ailing ; or rijing, rifing,
falling.
As a corroboration of thefe principles,
we may obferve, that where the paufe
neceflarily leaves but two accented words
in the laft member, and that emphafis
forbids the preceding member to be fo
pronounced, as to form the order of in-
flexions we have prefcribed ; when this
is the cafe, I fay, we fhall find the period
end inharmonioully. Let us take an ex-
ample :
If they do not acquiefc In his judgment,
which I think never happened above once or
twice -^ at moll^, they appeal'' to me^.
Spcoiator»
Here the fenfe requires, that the emphafis
with the falling inflexion fhould be placed
on the word nioft : after which mufl: be a
paufe ; and as the final member confifl:s
only of two accented words, appeal and
me^ no tolerable cadence can be formed;
for
ELOCUTION. 167
for thefe words, having neceOarily the
rifing and falUng inflexion, are but a re-
petition of the fame inflexions, in the
fame order as on the words twice and moft^
which forms as monotonous a conclufion
as the feries,
A, B ; A, B.
It feldom happens, however, that the
fentence is fo conftruded as to prevent the
ear from fafling into one or other of the
two before mentioned arrangements of
inflexion. For fo agreeable to the ear is
an harmonious cadence, that for the fake
of forming one, allowances will be made
for giving an emphatic accent even to
words not entitled to it from their fenfe.
Let us fuppofe the following fentence
forming the conclufion of a difcourfe :
So that from what has been faid, we may
certainly conclude, that as virtue is not always
rewarded in the prcTcnt life, it will be fure to
meet with the moft ample and fatisfa(^ory re-
ward In the life to come.
M 4 If
l68 ELEMENTS OF
If this fentence is properly pronounced,'
there muft be a confiderable paufe at the
word reward^ in order to pronounce the
laft member with a diflindt and harmo-
nious fall ; but if we paufe here, we fhall
find it impofTible to pronounce the laft
member harmonioufly without laying a
ftrefs on the word in ; and though this
word has no title either to accent or em-»
phafis from the fenfe it conveys, yet the
neceffity of concluding a difcourfe, or any
capital branch of a difcourfe, with an har-
monious fall, will fufficiently authorize a
confiderable ftrefs and dillin^t inflexion oa
that infignificant word.
A good ear, therefore, will fometimes
lay a ftrefs on certain words, and fome^
times omit it for the fake of an harmo-
ous cadence. Thus in Sterne's Sermon
on the Houfe of Mourning and the
Houfe of Feafting, we meet with thi§
paflage ;
From
ELOCUTION. 169
From reflexions of this ferious cad, how in-
fenfibly do the thoughts carry us farther ? and
from confideruig what we are, what kind of
world we live in, and what evils befall us in
it, how naturally do they fet us to look for-
wards at what poffibly we fhall be ? for what
kind of world we are intended — what evils
may befall us there- — and vvhat provilion we
may make againft them here, whilft we have
time and opportunity.
In this paflage we find the laft member,
whilft we have time and opportunity^ necef-
farily requires that the word whiljl fhould
be pronounced with the degree of force
due to an accented word, or the cadence
would be faulty. But if this laft member
were conftrudled in this manner ; whilft
we have time and opportunity ajf'orded us ;
in this cafe, I fay, we need give no force
to the word whilft^ as there are three ac-
cented words, time^ opportunity^ and af-
forded^ which will be fufficient to form
the cadence vyithout it : nay, if we give a
degree
170 ELEMENTS OF
degree of force with the falling inflexion to
this word, fo as to make the member confift
of four accented inflexions, we fhall hurt
the fcnfe, without adding to the harmony.
Thefe obfervations necefl^arily fuggeflc
the importance of fuch a choice and ar-
rangement of words as fall in with the
moft harmonious pronunciation. Read-
ing and compofing mutually throw light
on each other ; they are counterparts of
one great operation of the human mind,
namely, that of conveying the ideas and
feelings of one man to another with force,
precifion, and harmony. It will not be
very furprifmg, therefore, if the foregoing
obfervations on pronunciation (hould have
hinted a few rules on the harmony of
compofition. We have feen, that the
harmony of every fentence depends more
particularly on the confl:ru<fl:Ion of the lat-
ter part *, as this forms what is commonly
• Quint. L. IX. Cap. iv.
called
ELOCUTION. 171
Called the cadence. This part of the fen-
tence, therefore, fhould be more particu-
larly attended to. We have feen in a for-
mer fentence, namely,
Exercifc-^ and temperance^ flrengthenN the
conftitiition/, and fvveeten'^ life^,
that when the firft four accented words
form the rhythmical variety, rijing fallings
falling rifing^ thefe are' followed by two
others, which draw that variety into a
famenefs equivalent to the feries rijing
falling, falling rijing^ ri/ing falling ; here
I fay, we fee a fault in the compofition,
which the ear ftrives to amend, by laying
a ftrefs and inflexion on and in the lafl
member ; we fee likewife, that this fault
is rectified either by adding two accented
words to the body of the fentence, as,
Exercife'^ and temperance"*^ are the medi-
cine'^ of nature'', they flreng:hcrA the condi-'
mrioH'^and fwcetcn ' life^',
wdiich
172 ELEMENTS OF
which forms the more varied arrange-
ment, rijing fallings falling rif.ng^ falling
rijingy rijing falling-, or, by adding one-
accented word to the laft member, as,
Exercife^ and temperance^ flrengthen^ the
conflitution-^ and fvveeten'^ the enjoyments'^, of
life\.
Where we find the order of arrangement
in the laft member different from that in
the former ; and by this means a variety
and harmony produced equivalent to the
feries rifmg fallings y^////?^ f'if^gt falling
rijing^ falling. By this view, I fay, we
may fee the neceffity of fo arranging the
words in the latter members of a fentence
as to let the feven or eight laft inflexions
fall commodioufly on the feven or eight
laft accented words ; and that the laft
paufe, as in the two laft examples, may
always fall betv7cen either the third and
fourth, or the fourth and fifth accented
v.^ord, from the laft.
R U L E S
elocution. 173
'rules for reading verse.
"1 TlyTHatever difficulties we' may find in
reading profe, they are greatly in-
creafed when the compofition is in verfe ;
and more particularly if the verfe be
rhyme. The regularity of the feet, and
the famenefs of found in rhyming verfe,
ftrongly folicits the voice to a famenefs of
tone ; and tone, unlefs dired:ed by a judi-
cious ear, is apt to degenerate into a fong,
and a fong, of all others, the moft dif-
gufting to a perfon of juft tafte. If there-
fore, there are few who read profe with
propriety, there are ftill fewer who fuc-
ceed in verfe ; they either want that equa-
ble and harmonious flow of found which
diftinguifhes it from loofe, unmeafured
compofition, or they have not a fufficient
delicacy of ear to keep the harmonious
fmoothnefs of verfe from fliding into a
whining cant : nay, fo agreeable is this
cant
274 ELEAiENTS OF
cant to many readers, that a fimple and
natural delivery of verfe feems tame atnd
infipid, and much too familiar for the
dignity of the language. So pernicious
are bad habits in every exercife of the fa-
culties, that they not only lead us to falfe
objedls of beauty and propriety, but at
lafl deprive us of the very power of per-
ceiving the miftake. For thofe, therefore,
"whofe ears are not juft, and who are to-
tally deficient in a true tafte for the mufic
of poetry, the beft method of avoiding
this impropriety, is to read vcrfc exadlly
as if it were profe : for though this may
be faid to be an error, it is certainly an
error on the fafer fide.
To fay, however, as fome do, that the
pronunciation of verfe is entirely deftitute
of fong, and that it is no more than a j ufl
pronunciation of profe, is as diftant from
truth as the whining cant we have been
fpeaking of, is from true poetic harmony,
, Poetry
ELOCUTION. 175
Poetry without fong is a body without a
a foul. The tune of this fong is, indeed,
difficult to hit, but when once it is hit, it
is fure to give the mofi: exquifite pleafure.
It excites in the hearer the moll eager de-.
fire of imitation, and if this defire is not
accompanied by a jull tafte or good in-
ftrudion, it generally fubftitutes the turn
ti^ turn ti^ as it is called, for fimple, ele-
gant poetic harmony.
It muft, however, be confefTed, that
elegant readers of verfe often verge fo
nearly on what is a-^^d Jing fojig^ without
falling into it, that it is no wonder thofe
who attempt to imitate them, Hide into
that blemifh which borders fo nearly on a
beauty. And, indeed, as an ingenious
author obferves ^, " there is fuch an affi-
" nity between poetry and mufic, that
*' they w^ere in the earlier ages never fe-
♦ Philofophicul F.iluy on the Delivery of written Lan-
guage.
" parated 5
176 ELEMENTS OF
" parated ; and though modern refinement
" has, in ji great meafure, deftroyed this
*' union, yet it is with fome degree of
" difficulty, in rehearfmg thefe divine
*' compofitions, that we forget the fmg-
*' ing of the Mufe."
The truth is, the pronunciation of verfe
is a fpecies of elocution very diftin(^ from
the pronunciation of profe ; hoth of them
have nature for their bafis, but one is com-
mon, familiar, and praQical nature ; the
other beautiful, elevated, and ideal na-
ture ; the latter .0 different from the for-
mer as the elegant flep of a minuet is from
the common motions in walking. Ac-
cordingly, we find, there are many who
can read profe well, that are entirely at a
lofs for the pronunciation of verfe : for
thefe then we will endeavour to lay down
a few rules which may ferve to facilitate
the acquiring of fo dcllrablc an accom-
plilhment.
And
ELOCUTION. 177
But firft it may be obferved, that though
all the paffions may be in a poetical drefs,
and that the movement of the verfe may be
fuited to all their different charaders ; yet
as verfe is a fpecies of mufic, none of the
paffions appear to fuch advantage in poetry
as the benevolent ones ; for as melody is
a thing plealing in itfelf, it mull naturally
unite with thofe paffions which are pro-
dud:ive of plealing fenfations ; in like
manner, as graceful a(ftion accords with-
a generous fentiment, or as a beautiful
countenance gives advantage to an ami-
able idea. Thus the noble and generous
paffions are the conftant topics of ancient
and modern poets ; and of thefe paffions
the pathetic feems the favourite and mofl
endearing theme. Thofe readers, there-
fore, who cannot affiime a plaintive tone
of voice, will never fucceed in reading
poetry ; and thofe who have this power,
will read verfe very agreeably, though
Vol. II. N almoft
ma
173 ELEMENTSOF
almoft every other re(juifite for delivery
be wanting.
It has been obferved upon a former oc-
cafion*, that the different inflexions of
the voice upon particular words are not
fb perceptible in verfe as in profe ; and
that in the former, the voice fometimes en-
tirely finks the inflexion, and Aides into 2
monotone. This propenfity of the voice
in reading verfe, fhows how nearly poetry
approaches to* mulic ; as thofe notes pro-
perly called mufical are really fo many
monotones, or notes without Aides, in dif-
ferent degrees of the mufieal fcafe, and
fometimes in the fame degree. This ap-
proach to a monotone, efpeeially in pLiin-
tive poetry, makes it often drfficult, and
fometimes impolfible to d'iftlnguifli whe-
ther the fiides that accompany the paufcs^
and emphafis- of verfe afe rifing or falb-
ing-: and at thofe pau^s where we can
'^ Vol. I. p. 147.
eafily
ELOCUTION, 179
feafily dlftinguifli the inflexions, we fome-
times find them different from fuch as we
fliould adopt in reading the pafTage if it
were profe ; that is, we often find the
rifing inflexion at a paufe in verfe, where,
if it were profe, we flioiild ufe the falling
inflexion : an inftance is given of this at
the end of the feries ; and to thefe many
more might be added. For as pronuncia-
tion has for its object the flrongefl and
cleareft fenfe, united with the moft agree-
able found J if when, in order to be har-
monious, we mufl necelTarily enfeeble or
obfcure the fenfe ; or, if in order to be
ftrong and clear, we find it necelTary to
be harfh, the compofition is certainly
faulty ; and all a reader can do in this
cafe is, to make fuch a compromife be-
tween fenfe and found as will produce,
upon the whole, the bell effe(^. It has
been before obferved, that fometimes in
profe, when the meaning is fufficiently
N 2 obvi-
i8o ELEMENTS OF
obvious, we may abate an enforcement of
the fenfe for the fake of the found ; and
in poetry, the facrifice to found is much
more neceffary ; that is, if the fenfe be
fufficiently clear, for nothing can offend
againft every fpecies of pronunciation fo
inuch as confufion or obfcurity.
But though an elegant and harmomous
pronunciation of verfe will fometimes ob-
lige us to adopt different inflexions from
thofe we fliould ufe in profaic pronuncia-
tion, it may ftill be laid down as a good
general rule, that verfe requires the fame
inflexions as profe, though lefs ftrongly
marked, and more approaching to mono-
tones. If therefore we are at a lofs for
the true inflexion of voice on any word in
poetry, let us reduce it to carnefl convcr-
fation, and pronounce it in the luoft fami-
liar and proi'aic maciicr ; and \vc ihall for
the mofl part fall into lliofe very in lie-
xions we ought to adopt in repeating
vcrib :
ELOCUTION, i8i
Terfe : nay, it is the prefervation of thefe
profaic inflexions that makes the poetic
pronunciation natural : and the whining
cant which is adopted by many afFeded
readers of poetry, owes, in a great mea-
foe, its origin t-o a neglect af this rule.
Thus in the following couplet :
Short is the date in which ill ad:s prevail.
But honefly's a rock will never fail. Steele.
If we pronounce the laft word fail with
the rifmg inflexion, Aiding upwards a lit-
tle higher than ufual, we fliall infallibly
draw the couplet into the whining tone
we are here fpeaking of ; but if we pro-
nounce every part of the fame fentence
exadly in the fame manner, except the
lafl: word, and give this the falling infle-
^xion, we fhall find a natural tone pre-
ferved, and the whining cant entirely va-
nlflied.
This obfervatlon naturally leads us to a
XvXq which may juftly be looked on as the
N 3 funda-
l82 ELEMENTS OF.
fundamentat principle of all poetic pro-
nunciation ; which is, that, wherever a
fentence, or member of a fentence, would
neceOarily require the falling inflexion in,
profe, it ought always to have the fame
inflexion in poetry ; for though, if we
were to read verfe profaically, we fhould
often place the falling inflexion where the
flyle of verfe would require the rifmg, yet
in thofe parts, where, a portion of perfe(5t
fenfe, or the conclufion of a fentence ne-
ceflarily requires the falling inflexion, the
fame inflexion mufl: be adopted both iu
verfe and profe.
EXAMPLE.
Of man's firft difobedience, and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree, whofe mcwtal tafte
Brought death into the world, and all our woe.
With lofs of Eden, till one greater man
Reflore us, and regain the blifsful feat ;
Sing heavenly mufe, that on the fccret top
Of Orel), or of Sinai, didft infpirc
That flicphcrd, who firfl; taught the chofen itciX
In
ELOCUTION. iS^
In tTie beginning, how the heav'ns and earth
Rofe out of chaos. MdtonsParad. Lojl, B. I. v. i.
Though we were to read this paflage quite
profaically, it would not admit of the fall-
ing inflexion on any of its paufes tiil the
find, and here the voice ought to aflume
the falling inflexion, and be in a lower
tone than at any of the other paufes : but
in the following example :
High on a throne of royal ftate, which far
Oatflione the wealth of Ormus or of Inde,
Or where the gorgeous Eaft witK richeft hand,
Show'rs on her kings barbaric pearl and gold,
Satan exalted fat. MiliorCsI'arad. Loji, B. II. v. u
In reading thi§ paflage profaically, we
might place the falling inflexion on Tnde ;
but the poetical pronunciation of this paf-
fage would necefl~arily require a fufpenfion
of voice with the riflng inflexion on that
word. It may be obferved, indeed, that
it is in the frequent ufe of the riflng in-
^exion, where profe would adopt the fall-
N 4 ing,
184 E L E M E N T S O F
ing, that the fcng of poetry confifts : fa-
tniliar, ftrong, argumentative fubjeds na-
turally enforce the language with the fall-
ing inflexion, as this is naturally expref-
five of adlivity, force, and precifion ; but
grand, beautiful, and plaintive fubjeds
flide naturally into the rifing inflexion, as
this is expreflive of awe, admiration, and
melancholy ; where the mind may be faid
to be palTive ; and it is this general ten-
dency of the plaintive tone to aflume the
rifmg inflexion, which inclines injudicious
readers to adopt it at thofe paufes where
the falling inflexion is abfolutely necef-
fary ; and for want of \\ hich the pronun-
ciation degenerates into the whine, fo much
and fo juftly diiliked ; for it is very re-
markable, that if, where the fenfe con-
cludes, we are careful to preferve the fall-
ing inflexion, and let the voice drop into
• the natural talking tone ; the voice may
be fufpended in the rifmg inflexion on
an^
ELOCUTION. 185
any other part of the verfe, with very lit-
tle danger of falling into the chant of
bad readers. Thus in the following paf-
fage which opens the tragedy of Cato :
The dawn is overcaft, the morning low'rs.
And heavily in clouds brings on the day ;
The great, the important day.
Big with the fate of Cato and of Rome.
The grandeur of the obje(9:s and fwell of
language in this defcription, naturally
throw the voice into thofe tones that ex-
prefs the awe and dignity which thefe ob-
jeds excite in the mind ; and thefe tones
being inclined to the plaintive, naturally
Hide into the rifmg inflexion on the paufes ;
and this is apt to draw the voice into a
chant ; but let the word Rome have the
falling inflexion and fink into a lower key,
in the natural talking tone, and the im-
perfedions in pronouncing the former
part will be in a great meafure covered ;
pn the contrary, though the former part
is
l86 ELEMENTS OF
js pronounced ever lb accurately, if the
word Rsme has the rifing inflexion, the
whole will appear to have a difagrecable
whining tone.
This may fuiEce, to fhew the neceflity
of attending to the pronunciation of pe-
riods in verfe, and of giving them the
fame inflexion of voice they would require
in profe ; for it mufl be carefully noted^
that though \V€ often end with the rifing
inflexion in verfe, where we fliould ufe
the falling in . profe, yet if in profe we
ihould end with the rifnig inflexion, v/e
ought always to end with the fame infle-
xion in verfe ; in this cafe, the rifing in-
flexion at the end of a fentence will not
appear to have the whining tone. Thus,
where a queftion would require the rifing
inflexion in profe, verfe will ncceflarily
require it to end with the fame inflexion ;
and in this cafe, the rifing inflexion will
have no bad effed on the ear.
E X A n.
ELOCUTION. 187
EXAMPLE.
What ! Jhall an African, fhall Juba*s h^ir
Reproach great Cato's fon, and ihe,w the world
A virtue wanting in a Roman foul ?
Here, though every paufe requires the rif-
ing inflexion, and the period the fame,
yet as this period is an interrogation re-
quiring the rifing inflexion, no whining
chant is the confequence, but the whole
is natural.
From thefe obfervations, this general
rule will naturally arife ; that though in
verfe we frequently fufpend the voice by
the riGng inflexion, where, if the com-
pofltion were profe, we fhould adopt the
falling : yet, wherever in profe, the mem-
ber or fentence would neceflarily require
the rifmg inflexion ; this inflexion muft
neceflarily be adopted in verfe. An in-
ftance of all thefe cafes may be found in
the following example from Pope ;
He
lS8 ELEMENTS OF
He who through vafl immenfity can pierce.
See worlds on worlds compofe one univerfe;
Obferve how fyftem into fyftem runs.
What other planets circle other funs ;
"What vary'd being peoples ev*ry ftar.
May tell why heav'n has made us as we are.
But of this frame, the bearings and the tics.
The ftrong connexions, nice dependencies.
Gradations juft, has thy j^ervading foul
Look'd through ? or can a part contain the
whole ?
Is the great chain that draws all to agree.
And drawn fupports, upheld by God, or thee ?
if this paflage were profe, every line but
the fifth might end with the falling infle-
jtion like a commencing ferics of five
jnembers ; but the fifth, being that where
the two principal conftrudlive parts unite
and the fenfe begin-s to form, here, both
in profe and verfe, muft be the principal
paufe, and the rifing inflexion *. Tlie
two queftions with which this fentence
* See Vol. I. p. 162.
ends,
ELOCUTION. 189
ends, ought to have the rifing Inflexioa,
alfo, as this is the inflexion they would
necefTarily have in profe; though from
injudicioufly printing the laft couplet fa
as to form a frefli paragraph, the word
whole is generally pronounced with the
falling inflexion, in order to avoid the bad
efl^c£t of a queftion with the rifing infle-
xion at the end of a paragraph ; which
would be eff^edually prevented by unit-
ing the lafl: couplet to the reft, fo as to
form one whole portion ; and which
was undoubtedly the intention of the
poet.
Having premifed thefe obfervations,
we fliall endeavour to throw together a
few rules for the reading of verfe, which
by defcending to particulars, it is hoped
will be more ufeful than thofe very gene-
ral ones which are commonly to be met
with on this fubjed;, and which, though
very ingenious, feem calculated rather
for
igo ELEMENTS OF
for the making of verfes than the reading
©f them.
Rule I. As the exad tone of the paf-
lion, emotion, or fentiment which verfe
excites, is not ait firft eafy to hit, it will
be proper always to begin a poem in a
fimple and almoft profaic ftyle, and fo pro-
ceed till we are warmed with the fubjed,
and feel the emotion we wifh to exprefs.
Thus in Gray's Elegy in a Country Church-
yard, if we cannot immediately ftrike into
the folemn ftyle with which that poem
begins, it will be better to commence with
,an eafier and lefs marking tone ; and fome-
what like the ftyle of reading profe, till
the fubjeft becomes a little familiar. There
are few poems which will not allow of
this profaic commencement, and where
they^^o not, it is a much lefs fault in
reading to begin with too little empha-
fis, tlian either to ftrike Into a wrong one,
or to execute the right emphafis auk-
wardly.
E L o c tr T I O N'. i<;i
•wardly. Gray's Elegy on the Extii-pationi
of the Bards, is alraoft the only oqc that
does not admit of commencing m<sderately.
Ruin feize thee ruthlefs king !
Confufion on thy banners wait ! £«f<:.
Rule II. In verfcy every fyllable is tor
have the fame accent, and every word the
fame emphafis as in profe : for though the
rhythmical arrangement of the accent and
emphafis is the veiy definition of poetry,
yet, if this arrangement tends to give art
emphafis to words which would have none
in profe, or an accent to fueh fylTables as
have properly no accent, the rhythmus,
or mufic of the verfe, muft be entirely
negleded. Thus the article the ought ne-
.ver to have a ftrefs, though placed in that
part of the verfe where the ear experts aa
Accent.
Of all the caufes which confpire to blind,
Man's erring judgment and milguide the mind,
'What the weak head with ftrongeft bias rules.
Is prkk-, the never-failing vice of fcols. Pope,
An
192 ELEMENTS OF
An injudicious reader of verfe would bd
very apt to lay a ftrefs upon the article
the in . the third line, but a good reader
would infallibly neglect the ftrefs on this,
' and transfer it to the words what and weaL
Thus alfo in the following example, no
ftrefs muft be laid on the word of^ becaufe
we flioiild not give it any in profaic pro*
nunciation.
Afk of thy mother earth why oaks are made
Taller and flronger than the weeds they fhade.
Pope.
For the fame reafon the word as^ either in
the firft or fecond line of the following
couplet, ought to have no ftrefs.
Eye nature's walks fhoot folly as it flies.
And catch the manners living as they rife. Fope»
The laft fyllable of the word excellent^ in
the following couplet, being the place of
the ftrefs, is very apt to "draw the organs to
a wrong pronunciation of the word in com-
pliance with the riiythmus of the verfe.
Their
£ L O C U 1" I O N. 193
0
Their praife is -ftill the ftyle is excellent ; "
The fenfe they humbly take upon content. Pope,
But a ftrefs upon the laft fyllable of this
word muft, be avoided upon pain of the
greateft poffible reproach to a good reader ;
which is that of altering the accent of a
word, to indulge the ear in a childifh jin^
gle of fyllables. The fanie may be ob-
ferved of the word eloquence and, the par-
ticle the in the following couplet :
Falfe eloquence like the prifmatic-glafs
Its gaudy colours fpreads on ev*ry place. Pope,
If in compliance with the rhythmus, or
tune of the verfe, we were to lay a ftrefs
on the laft fyllable of ehquence^ and on
the particle the in the firft of thefe verfes,
fearcely any thing can be conceived more
difgufting to a good judge of reading.
This rule, however, admits of fome
few exceptions. Milton has fometimea
placed words fo unfavourably for pronun^
Vol, II. O ciation
194 ELEMENTS OF
ciation in the common way, that the ear
would be more difgufted with the harfh-
ncfs of the verfe, if the right accent were
preferved, than with a wrong accent,
which preferves the harmony of the verfe :
for it is not merely reducing a line to profe
if the fenfe requires it, which is a capital
fault in reading poetry, but reducing it to
very harfh and difagreeable profe. Thus
the angel, in Milton, reafoning with Adani
about the planets, fays :
For fuch vaft room in nature unpoflefs'd
By living foul, defert and defolate
Only to Ihine yet fcarce to contribute
Each orb a glimpfe of light, convey'd fo far
Down to this habitable, which returns
Light back to them, is obvious to difpute.
Farad. Lofty B. viii. v, 15^.
The word contribute has properly the ac-
cent on the fecond fyllable ; but the verfe
would be fo harfh with this accent, that
it is prefumed a good reader would, for
the
\
ELOCUTION. 195
the fake of found, lay the principal ac-
cent on the firft fyllable, and a fubordinate
ftrefs on the thitd. The fame may be
obferved of the word attribute, in the fol-
lowing paflage from the fame author i
The fwiftnefs of thofe circles attribute.
Though numberlefs, to his Omnipotence,
That, to corporeal fubftances could add
Speed almoft fpiritual.
Parad, Loft, B. viii. v, top
Where a word admits of fome diveriltj^
in placing the accent, it is fclreely necef-
fary to obferve, that the verfe ought iri
this cafe to decide. Thus in the follow-*
ing paflage :
Now gentle gales
Fanning their odoriferous wings difpenfe
Native perfumes, and whifper whence they dole
Thofe balmy fpoils. Parad. Loft, B, iv. v. 156.
For Hamlet and the trifling of his favour
Hold it a fafhion and a toy in blood,
A violet in the youth and prime of nature
O 2 For-
196' ELEMENTS OF
Forward not permanent, though fvveet not
lading,
The perfume of a minute. Shakefpeare,
The word perfume in the paflage from
Milton ought to be accented on the laft
fyllable, and the fame word in Shakefpeare
on the firft ; for both thefe modes of plac-
ing the accent are allowable in profe,
though the laft feems the preferable ; as
it is agreeable to that analogy of diifylla-
ble nouns and verbs of the fame form,
which requires the accent to be on the
firft fyllable of the noun, and on the laft
of the verb.
But when the poet has with great judg-
ment contrived that his numbers fhall be
harfti and grating, in order to correfpond
to the ideas they fuggeft, the common ac-
centuation muft be preferved.
On a fuddcn open fly
With impetuous recoil and jarring found
Th* infernal doors, and on their hinges grate
Harfh thunder. Varad. Loji^ B. ii. v. 879.
ELOCUTION. 197
Here the harfhnefs arifing from the ac-
cent on the fecond fyllable of the word
impetuous^ finely expreffes the recoil and
jarring found of the gates of hell.
Rule III. The vowel e^ whicjh is often
cut off by an apoftrophe in the word they
and in fyllables before r, as dangrous^
genrous^ &c. ought to be preferved in the
pronunciation, becaufe the fyllable it forms
is fo fhort as to admit of being founded
with the preceding fyllable, fo as not to
increafe the number of fyllables to the ear,
or at all hurt the harmony.
'Tis hard to fay, if greater want of ikill
Appear in writing or in judging ill ;
But of the two, lefs dang'rous is th' offence.
To tire our patience than miflead our fenfe.
Tope,
Him the Almighty power
Hurl'd headlong flaming from th' etherial iky
With hideous ruin and combuftion, down
To bottomlefs perdition, there to dwell
O 3 In
jg$ ELEMENTS OF
In adamantine chains and penal fire.
Who durft defy th' Omnipotent to arjps.
Milton.
In the example from Milton, we have an
inftance that the particle t/ie may either
form a diftin<£t fyllable in poetry or not ;
in the firft line it muft neceffarily form a
diftind: fyllable ; in the fecond and laft it
may be fo blended with the fucceeding
word as to be pronounced without elifion,
and yet form no diftind: fyllable.
^x. Rule IV. Almoft every verfe admits of
a paufe in or near the middle of the line,
which is called the csefura ; this muft be
carefully obferved in reading verfe, or
much of the diftindnefs, and almoft all
the harmony will be loft.
EXAMPLE.
Nature to all things fix'd the limits fit,
And wifely curb'd proud man's pretending wit ;
As on the land while here the ocean gains
In other parts it leaves wide fandy plains ;
Thus
ELOCUTION/ 199
Thus in the foul while memory prevails.
The folid pow*r of Underftanding fails ;
Where beams of warm imagination play
The memory's foft figures melt away. P<^e,
Thefe lines have feldom any points in-
ferted in the middle, even by the moll
fcrupulous punftuifts ; and yet nothing
can be more palpable to the ear, than that
a paufe in the firft at things^ in the fecond
at curbed J in the third at lanJ^ in the fourth
at parts ^ and in the fifth dXfouly is abfo-
lutely neceflary to the harmony of thefe
lines 5 and that the fixth, by admitting no
paufe but at underjtanding^ and the fe-
venth, none but at imagination^ border
very nearly upon profe. The reafon why
thefe lines will not admit of a paufe any
where but at thefe words, will be evident
to thofe who have perufed the former part
of this work on the divifion of a fentence*;
and if the reader would fee one of the
» Vd. I. page 37,
O 4 moft
aoo E L E M E NT S O F
moft curious pieces of analyfis on this fub-
jed: in any language, let him perufe in
Lord Kaims's Elements of Criticifm, the
chapter on Verification, where he will find
the fubje<St of paufing as it relates to verfe
difcufl'ed in the deepeft, cleareft, and moft
fatisfadtory manner. It will be only ne-
ceflary to obferve in this place, that though
the moft harmonious place for the capital
paufe is after the fourth fyllabie, it may,
for the fake of exprefifmg the fenfe ftrongly
and fuitably, and fometimes even for the
fake of variety, be placed at feveral other
intervals.
EXAMPLES.
'Tis hard to fay — if greater want of fkitl.
So when an angel— by divine command,
With rifing tempefts — fhakes a guilty land.
Then from his doling eyes — thy form fhall part.
And the laft pang — Ihall tear thee from his
heart.
Infpir*d repuls'd battalions — to engage,
And taught the doubtful battle— where to rage.
Know
ELOCUTION. 201
Know then thyfelf — prefume not God to fcan ;
The proper ftudy of mankind — is man.
But befides the capital paufe, there are cer-
tain fubordinate paufes, which though not
fo effential as the capital paufe, yet form
fome of the greateft delicacies in reading
verfe, and are an inexhauftible fource
of variety and harmony in the compofi-
tion of poetic numbers. This has been
fo clearly and philofophically proved by
Mr. Sheridan, in the fecond volume of
his Art of Reading, that it will only be
necefTary here to adduce a few inftances,
and refer the reader for the philofophy of
verfification to that very ingenious and
elegant work. But firft let us hear Lord
Kaims's opinion on this fubjedl. " But
" befides the capital paufe now mention-
" ed, inferior paufes will be difcovered by
*' a nice ear ; of thefe, there are com-
" monly two in each line ; one before the
'' capital paufe, and one after it. The
« for-
tot 15 L E M E N T S or
*' former comes invariably after the firft
long fyllable, whether the line begin
with a long fyllable, or a fliort : the
other, in its variety imitates the capital
'' paiijfe : in fbme lines, it comes after
** the fixth fyllable, in fome after the fe-
*' venth, and in fome after the eighth : of
*' thefe femi-paufes take the following ejf:-
*' aniples :
*' Firft and eighth :
*' Led I through a fad || variety | of woe.
** Firft and feventh :
«* Still I on that bread || enamour'd | let me
« lie.
*' Second and eighth :
*' From ftorms ] a Ihelter || and froni heat [
a ihade.
** Second and fixth :
«' Let wealth | let honour || wait | the wedd-
ed dame.
*' Second and feventh :
<* Above I all pain || all paflion | and all
<« pride/*
This
ELOCUTION. 202
This ingenious author muft certainly
have been miftaken in his firft example ;
for a capital paufe cannot poiGTibly fall be-
tween the adjedive and fubftantive in their
common order, and we may here, as in
many other cafes fuppofe, the want of a
capital paufe fupplied by the two femi-
paufes at led and variety. Nor is a femi-
paufe to be ever admitted in the middle
of a word, as this author attempts to
prove by the following examples :
Relent | lefs walls || whofe darkfome round |
contains.
For her | white virgins || hyme | neals fing.
In thefe | deep folitudes || and aw | ful ceils.
Nothing could be more puerile and de-
ftru6tive of the fenfe than to make paufes
as they are here marked in the middle of
the words re/ent/efs, hymeneal^ and awful.
Mr. Sheridan tells us, that, " befides
"the principal paufe, there is another
*' mode of dividing lines well fuited to the
*' nature
204 ELEMENTS OP
*' nature of the couplet, by introducing
** femi-paufes, which divide the hnes into
" four portions.
" By a femi-paufe (fays he) I mean
*' a fraall reft of the voice, during a por-
** tion of time equal to half of that taken
" up by the Ccefura, which may therefore
" he called a demi-caefura, as you will per-
" ceive in the following lines :
" Glows I while he reads f| but trembles | as
*' he writes.
*' Reafon | the card [[ but paffion [ is the gale.
** From men | their cities j| and from gods j
" their fanes.
" From ftorms ] a Ihelter || and from heat | a
« Ihade."
Nothing can be more new, more agree-
able, and fatisfadiory, than Mr. Sheridan's
thoughts on this fubje<ft ; but it muft not
be underflood, that every line in verfe ad-
mits of this double divifion by a caefura
and demi-csefura j on the contrary, many
lines
ELOCUTION. 205
lines admit but of one paufe, and this
fuch a paufe only as would be allotted to
the demi-caefura ; thus in the laft line of
the following couplet from Pope :
Thus in the foul, while mem'ry prevails.
The (olid power of underftanding fails.
In the laft line of this couplet, there can-
not be any paufe but at the word under-
jlanding^ and this but a fmall one. No
more than one paufe can be admitted in
each of the following lines from Milton,
though this paufe may be much longer
than the foregoing.
Thou that day
Thy father's dreadful thunder didft not fpare.
Attended with ten thoufand thoufand faints.
The paufe in thefe lines can only be at
thunder and attended.
It will, therefore be a good general
rule, not to multiply thefe fubordinate
paufes in verfe beyond what the fenfe will
per-
206 ELEMENTSOF
permit. I think it fcarcely poflible for a
line of ten fyllabks to be pronounced
without one paufe, and at the fame time
to be verfe ; but unlefs there is an evident
paufe in the fenfe, either from incon-
nexion or emphafis, it is prefumed it will
be advifable to be fparing in the ufe of
the demi-caefura. In the lines quoted by
Mr. Sheridan, where he has very properly
inferted the demi-caefura, we find an em-
phatic oppofition at every one, and thig
oppofition always requires a paufe whe-
ther in profe or verfe *.
Glows I while he reads || but trembles | as
he writes.
Reafon | the card || but paflion [ is the gale.
From men | their cities || and from | gods
their fanes.
From ftorms | a Shelter || and from heat [
a fhade.
Rule V. At the end of every line in
poetry muft be a paufe proportioned to the
• See Vol. I. p. IC4.
inti-
ELOCUTION. 207.
intimate or remote connexion fubfifting be-
tween tlae two lines.
Mr. Sheridan, in his Art of Reading,
has infiikd , largely on. the ncceffity of
making a paufe at the end of every line;
in poetry, whether the fenfe requires it or
not ; and this, he obferves, is fo necef-
fary, that without it we change the verfe
into profe. It is with diffidence I diflent
from fo great an authority, efpecially as I
have heard it approved by perfons of great
judgment and tafte. I mull own, how-
ever, that the neceffity of this paufe, where
the fenfe does not require it, is not fo evi-
dent to me, as to remove every doubt
about it : for in the firft place, if the au-
th6r has fo united the preceding and fol-
lowing lines in verfe as to make them
real profe, why is a reader to do that
which his author has negleded to do, and
indeed feems to have forbidden by the
very nature of the compofition ? In the
next
2o8 ELEMENTSOF
next place, this flight and almoft infen-
fible paufe of fufpenfion does not feem to
anfwer the end propofed by it ; which is,
that of making the ear fenfible of the ver-
fification, or of the equality of accentual
impreflions in every line. For this final
paufe is fo fmall, when compared with
that which precedes or follows it in the
body of the line, and this latter and larger
paufe is fo often accompanied with an in-
flexion of voice which marks the forma-
tion of perfed fenfe, that the boundaries
of the verfe become almoft, if not utterly
imperceptible, and the compofition, for a
few lines, fall into an harmonious kindj of
profe. For it is evident, that it is not a
fmall paufe at the end of a line in verfe,
which makes it appear poetry to the ear,
fo much as that adjuftment of the accent-
ed fyllables which forms a regular re-
turn of ftrefs whether the line is long
or ihort. Accordingly, we find, that
thofe
ELOCUTION. 209
thofe lines in blank verfe, which have a
long paufe in the middle, from a conclu-
fion of the fenfe, and a very fhort one at
the end, from the fenfe continuing, are,
in fpite of all our addrefs in reading, very
profaical* This profaic air in thefe lines
may have a very good cfFed: in point of
expreflion and variety, but if too fre-
quently repeated, will, undoubtedly ren-
der the verfe almoft imperceptible : for,
as was before obferved, the ear will mea-
fure the lines by the greateft paufes, and
if thefc fall within, and not at the end of
the line, the verfification will feem to be
compofed of unequal lines, and will want
that melody which the ear always expedls ,
in verfe, and never difpenfes with, but
when variety or expreflion is promoted
by it.
deeds of eternal fame
Were done, but infinite ; for wide was fpread
That war and various; fometimes on §rn\
ground
Vol. II. P A (land-
210 ELEMENTS OF
A itanding fight ; then foaring on main wing
Tormented all the air; all air feem*d then
Conflidting fire : long time in even fcale
The battle hung Milton,
The paufes at the end of thefe lines are
fo fmall when compared with thofe in the
body of the lines, that an appeal may be
made to every ear for the truth of what
has been juft obferved. This difpropor-
tion in the paufes cannot, however, be faid
to reduce the compofition to profe ; nay,
even if we were to ufe no paufes at all at
the end of the lines, they would not on
this account entirely lofe their poetic cha-
racter ; for at worft they might be called
numerous or harmonious profe, and that
the greateft part of blank verfe is neither
more nor lefs than tliis, it would not be
difficult to prove.
Mr. Sheridan defines numbers to be cer-
tain impreffions made on the ear at ftated
and" regular diftances ; and as he fuppofes
verfe
ELOCUTION. 211
vcrfe would be no verfe, without a paufe
at the end of each line, he muft define
verfe to be a certain number of impreffions
made on the ear at ftated and regular di-
ftances, terminated by a paufe, fo as to
make this number of impreffions percep-
tibly equal in every line. But if a paufe
comes into the definition of verfe, becaufe
it ferves to Ihew the equal number of ini-
preffions in every line, a paufe that is in-
fufficient for this purpofe is not, ftridtly
fpeaking, a poetical paufe : for if the paufe
clafles words into fuch portions as enables
the ear to perceive the equality or variety
of thefe portions, the longeft paufes will
be the boundaries of thofe portions the
ear will moft readily perceive, and the
fhort paufes, will, like the demicaefura,
appear either imperceptible, or fubfer-
vient only to the greater paufe : thus the
foregoing paflage from Milton, will, while
we are pronouncing it, addrefs the ear in
P 2 *C
212 ELEMENTSOF *
the fame manner it does the eye in the
following arrangement.
Deeds of eternal fame were done, but infinite ;
For wide was fpread that war and various ;
Sometimes on firm ground a Handing fight;
Then foaring on main wing, tormented all the
air ;
All air feem'd then confli<fting fire :
Long time in even fcale the battle hung.
This arrangement of the words, though
exactly clafled into thofe portions in which
they come to the ear, feems to deftroy the
verfe, and to reduce it into unequally mea-
fured profe ;, but have we not reafon to
fufped, that the eye puts a cheat upon
the ear, by making us imagine a paufe to
exift where there is only a vacancy to the
eye ? Mr. Sheridan has admirably account-
ed for the perception of falfe quantity in
Latin verfe by this affociation of vifible
and audible objects, and there feems an
equal reafon to fufped the fame fallacy
here.
ELOCUTION. 213
The beft pronouncers of tragedy have
never obferved this paufe, and why it
fhould be introduced into other compo-
fition is not eafily comprehended : the
numbers of the verfe, the, dignity of the
language, an inverfion of the common
order of the words, fufficiently preferve it
from falling into profe ; and if the name
of verfe only be wanting, the lofs is not
very confiderable. When the line is ter-
minated by a rhyme, the boundaries of
the verfe is very difcernible by the fmall-
eft paufe ; though the moft harmonious
rhyming verfe muft be acknowledged to
be that, where the rhyme is accompanied
by a confiderable paufe in the fenfe ; but
as too long a fucceffion of thefe lines fa-
tiates the ear with too much equality, we
readily exchange found, for variety or force
of expreffion. Sometimes even the paufes
before and after a rhyme are fo confider-
able, and that at the end of the rhyme fo
P 3 fmall,
±14- ELEMENTS OF
fmall, that the boundaries of the verfe are
loft in the rapidity of the exprefliori.
Which, without palling through the judg-
ment, gains
The heart, and all its end at once attains.
Pope.
'Tis with our judgments as our watches; none
Go jufl alike, yet each believes his own. Pope,
In thefe lines I think it is evident, that if
we make a fmall paufe of fufpenfion, as
Mr. Sheridan calls it, at the end of the firft
verfe, the paufes of fenfe 2it judgment and
hearty and at watches and alike^ are fo
much more perceptible, that every trace
of the length of the verfe is loft : the fame
may be obferved of the following lines
of Milton,
Sing heav'nly Mufe, that on the fecret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didfl infpire
That Shepherd, who firft taught the chofen ^qq^
In the beginning, how the hcav'ns and earth
Rofc out of chaos : or if Sion hill
Delight thee more, and Siloa's brook, that flow'd
Faft
ELOCUTION. 215
Faft by the oracle of God : I thence
Invoke thy aid to my advent'rous fong.
In the fifth, fixth, and feventh lines of
this paflagCy the paufe in the fenfe falls fo
diftin£tly on the words, Chaos^ more^ and
God^ that a flight paufe at hiU^jiowd^ and
thence, would not have the leaft power of
informing the ear of the end of the line,
and of the equality of the verfe, and there-
fore for thefe purpofes would be entirely
ufelefs. For in all pronunciation, whether
profaic or poetic, at the beginning of every
frefh portion, the mind muft neceflarily
have the paufe of the fenfe in view, and
this profpe^S of the fenfe muft regulate
the voice for that portion, to the entire
negleQ: of any length in the verfe : as an
attention to this muft neceflarily interrupt
that flow or current in the pronunciation,
which the fenfe demands. Thus the cur-
rent of the voice is flopped at chaos ; and
the fucceeding part of the verfe. Or if Sion
P 4 hill.
2i6 ELEMENTS OF
hill^ is fo much detached from the prer
ceding part, that the admeafurement of
the verfe is deftroyed to the ear, and we
might add a foot more to the latter part
of the verfe without feeming at all to
lengthen it ; we might for example writ^
the line in this manner :
Rofe out of Chaos : or if Sion's verdant hill
without any indication of falfe quantity tq
the ear, though the eye fcans it as too long
by two fyllables.
The afFedlation which moft writers of
blank verfe have, of extending the fenfe be-
yond the line, whether neceflary or not,
is followed by a fnuilar aiFedation in th^
printer, who will often omit placing a
paufe at the end of a line of verfe, where
he would have inferted one in profe ; and
this affedatlon is flill carried farther by the
reader, who will generally run the fenfe of
one line into another, where there is the
leaft
ELOCUTION. 217
ieaft opportunity of doing it, in order' to
fhow that he is too fagacious to fuppofe
there is any conclufion in the Tenfe be-
X^aufe the hne concludes. This afFediation,
I fay, has poflibly given rife to the oppo-
fite one adopted by the learned, namely,
that of paufing where the fenfe abfolutely
forbids a paufe, and fo by fhunning Scylla
to fall into Charybdis : this error is ex-
cellently defcribed by Pope :
The vulgar thus through imitation err.
As oft the learn'd by being, (ingular ;
So much they hate the crowd, that if the throng
By chance go right, they purpofely go wrong.
The Latin and Greek verfe, indeed, re-
quired a paufe at the end of the line, and a
paufe much greater than is allotted by Mr,
Sheridan to Englifh verfe ; but verfe in
thefe languages was fo widely different
from the verfe of the moderns, that no-
thing can be concluded from their verfifi-
cation in favour of the paufe in queftion ;
and
2i8 ELEMENTS OF
and as there was a good reafon from the na-
ture of thefe languages for excluding the
ufe of rhyme, it is no wonder that they
adopted a long paufe at the end of every
verfejuft as an injudicious reader of Englifli
verfe would do, to form a chime of equal
fyllables : and although this chime is fo
difagreeable to a modern Englifh ear, it is
very poflible it was not fo to our fore-
fathers, nor to the ancient Greeks and
Romans, who confidered verfe rather as
fmging than fpeaking : but to us, who
make the mufic of verfe entirely fubfer-
vient to the fcnfe, it feems fcarcely allow-
able to give a paufe to the end of a line
in verfe, where there is none in the fenfe,
and by that means deftroy that balance in
the refts and paufes, upon which the fenfe
and exprelTion of the poet fo much de-
pends.
For thefe reafons, and more which
might be urged, I mull own myfelf in
fome
ELOCUTION. 219
fome doubt of the^reality or utility of the
paufe Mr. Sheridan fo much recommends :
let thofe, however, who are of his opi-
nion, and can eafily conceive the propriety
and ufe of it, follow their own method 5
in the mean time, as the ufe of this paufe
is confeffedly very delicate, I would advife
every one who cannot adopt it with eafe,
and without danger to the fenfe, to neg-
lect it entirely : the truth is, the end of a
line in verfe naturally inclines us to a
paufe, and the words that refufe a paufe
fo feldom occur at the end of a verfe, that
we often paufe between words in verfe,
where we fhould not in profe, but where
a paufe would by no means interfere with
the fenfe j this, it is prefumed, has been
fully fhown in the former part of this
work, and this, perhaps, may be the rea-
fon why a paufe at the end of a line in
poetry is fuppofed to be in compliment to
the verfe, when the very fame paufe in
profe
220 ELEMENTS OF
profe is allowable, and, perhaps, eligible,
but neglected as unneceflary : however
this be, certain it is, that if we pronounce
many lines in Milton, fo as to make the
equality of impreffions on the ear diftindly
perceptible, if by making this paufe, we
make the paufes that mark the fenfe lefs
perceptible, we exchange a folid advantage
for an infignificant chime, and by endea-
vouring to preferve the name of verfe,
lofe all its meaning and energy.
\ Rule VI. In order to form a cadence
in a period in rhyming verfe, we muft
adopt the falling inflexion with confider-
able force, in the caefura of the lafl line
but one.
EXAMPLE.
One fcience only, will one genius fit.
So vaft is art, fo narrow human wit ;
Not only bounded to peculiar arts,
But ofc in thofe confin'd to lingle parts ;
Like kings we iofe the conquefts gained before.
By vain ambition Hill to make them more ;
Each
ELOCUTION. 221
Each might his fev'ral province^ || well com-
mand,
Would all but {loop to what they underftand.
In repeating thefe lines, we fhall find it
neceflary to form the cadence, by giving
the falling inflexion, with a little more
force than common to the word province.
The fame may be obferved of the word
profpeSf^ in the laft line of the following
palFage :
So pleas'd at firft the tow*ring Alps we try.
Mount o*er the vales, and feem to tread the Iky;
Th' eternal fnows appear already paft.
And the firfl clouds and mountains feem the
laft :
But thofe attain'd, we tremble to furvey.
The growing labours of the lengthen'd way ;
Th* incrcafing profpedt^ j| tires our wand*ring
eyes.
Hills peep o'er hills and Alps on Alps arife.
Rule VII. A fimile in poetry ought al-
ways to be read in a lower tone of voice
than that part of the paiTage which pre-
cedes it.
EXAM-
222 ELEMENTS OF
EXAMPLE.
'Twas then great Marlb'rough's mighty foul
was prov'd.
That in the fhock of charging hofts unmov'd
Amidft confulion horror and defpair,
Examin'd all the dreadful fcenes of war.
In peaceful thought the field of death furvey'd,
To fainting fquadrons fent the timely aid ;
Infpir*d repuls'd battalions to engage.
And taught the doubtful battle where to rage.
So when an angel by divine command.
With rifing tempefls Ihakes a guilty land
(Such as of late o'er pale Britannia paft)
Calm and ferene he drives the furious blaft ;
And pleas'd th'Almighty's orders to perform.
Rides on the whirlwind, and dired:s the ftorm.
Addifon.
Rule VIII. Where there is no paufe in
the fenfe at the end of a verfe, the laft
word muft have exadly the fame inflexion
it would have in profe.
EXAM-
ELOCUTION. £23
EXAMPLE'.,
Over their heads a chryftal firmament
Whereon a faphir throne, inlaid with pure^
Amber, and colours of the fhovv'ry arch.
Milton,
In this example, the word pure muft have
the falling inflexion, whether we make
any paufe at it or not ; as this is the in-
flexion the word would have if the fen-
tence were pronounced profaically. For
the fame reafon the words retird and
went^ in the following example, muft be
pronounced with the rifing inflexion.
At his command th' uprooted hills retir'd
Each to his place ; they heard his voice and
went
Obfequious ; heav'n his wonted face renew'd.
And with frelh flow'rets hill and valley fmil'd.
Rule IX. Sublime, grand, and magni-
ficent defcription in poetry, requires a
lower tone of voice, and a famenefs nearly
approaching to a monotone.
• This it is prefumed is an inftance, that a paufe of
fufpenlion may fometimes be improper at the end of a line.
See page 207.
224 ELEMENTS OF
This rule will furprife many, who have
always been taught to look upon a mono-
tone, or famenefs of voice, as a deformity
in reading. A deformity it certainly is,
when it arifes either from a want-of power
to alter the voice, or a want of judgment
to introduce it properly'; but I prefume it
may be with confidence affirmed, that
when it is introduced with propriety, it is
one^of the greateft embellifhments of po-
etic pronunciation. This has already been
exemplified * in the grand defcription of
Satan's throne, at the beginning of the
fecond book of Paradife Loft, and may be
farther illuftrated by a paflage from Dr.
Akenfide's Pleafures of Imagination.
Different minds
Incline to different objc<fts ; one purfues
The vaft alone, the wonderful the wild ;
Another fighs for harmonj', and grace.
And gentleft beauty. Hence, when light'ning
fires
* Sec Vol. r. p. 148.
The
ELOCUTION. 225
The arch of heav'n, and thunders rock the
ground ;
When furious whirlwinds rend the howling air.
And ocean, groaning from the loweft bed.
Heaves his tempeftuous billows to the fky;
Amid the mighty uproar, while below
The nations tremble, Shakfpeare looks abroad
From fome high cliff fuperior, and enjoys
The elemental war.
In repeating this noble defcrlptlon, if
we begin the feventh line at when in a
monotone, and continue it through the
three lines till we come to Jky^ upon which
word the voice changes to the rifmg in-
flexion, we fhall find a very fuitable gran-
deur communicated to the thought, by the
folemnity and famenefs of the tone of
voice.
Vol. II. q^ MODU-
( 226 )
MODULATION OF VOICE.
A FTER a perfedl idea is attained of the
paufe, emphafis, and inflexion, with
which we ought to pronounce every word,
fentencc, interrogation, cUmax, and dif-
ferent figure of fpeech, it will be abfo-
lutely neceflary to be acquainted with the
power, variety, and extent of the inftru-
ment, through which we convey them to
others ; for unlefs this inftrument be in a
proper pitch, whatever we pronounce will
be feeble and unnatural ; as it is only in
a certain pitch that the voice can command
the greatefl variety of tones, fo as to utter
them with energy and eafe.
Every one has a certain pitch of voice,
in which he is moft eafy to himfelf and
moft agreeable to others ; this maybe called
the natural pitch: this is the pitch in
which we converfe ; and this muft be the
bafis of every improvement we acquire
from
ELOCUTION. 227
from art and exercife : for fuch is the
force of exercife upon the organs of fpeech,
as well as every other in the human body,
that conftant pradice will ftrengthen the
voice in any key we ufe it to, even though
this happen not to be the moft natural and
eafy at firft. This is abundantly proved
by the ftrong vociferation which the iti-
nerant retailers in the ftreets acquire after
a few years pradice. Whatever key
they happen to pitch upon at firft is gene-
rally preferved ; and the voice in that note
becomes wonderfully ftrong and fonorous :
but, as the Spectator humoroufly obferves,
their articulation is generally fo indiftind:,
that we underftand what they fell, not fo
much by the words as the tune.
As conftant exercife is of fuch import-
ance to ftrengthen the voice, care fhould
be taken, that we exercife it on that part
where it has naturally the greateft power
and variety ; this is the middle tone j the
0^2 tone
•p.#
£28 E L E M E N T S O F
tone we habitually make ufe of when we
converfe with, or fpeak to perfons at a
moderate diftance ; for if we call out to
one who is fo far off, as to be almoft out
of hearing, we naturally raife our voice
to a higher key, as well as fwell it upon
that key to a much greater degree of loud-
nefs : as, on the contrary, if we wilh to
be heard only by a fmgle perfon in com-
pany, we naturally let fall our voice into
a low key, and abate the force of it, fo as
to keep it from being hieard by any, but:
the perfon we are fpeaking to.
In this fituation nature didlates ; but
the fituation of a public fpeaker is a fitua-
tion of art : he not only wiflies to be
heard, but to be heard with energy and
cafe ; for this purpofe, his voice muft be
powerful in that key which is eafieft to
him, in that which he will moft naturally
fall into, and which he will certainly have
the moll frequent occafion to ufe j and this
is the middle tone.
^.w-
ELOCUTION. 229
But before we enter farther on this fub-
jed:, it feems abfoliitely neceflary to ob-
viate a very common miftake with refped:
to the voice, which may lead to an incur-
able error ; and that is, the confounding
of high and low with loud and foft.
Thefe plain differences are as often jumb-
led together as accent and quantity, though
to much worfe purpofe. Our miftaking
of accent for quantity when we converfe
about it, makes not the leaft alteration in
our fpeaking ; but if, when we ought only
to be louder, we raife our voice to a higher
key, our tones become fhrill and feeble,
and fruflrate the very intention of fpeak-
ing.
Thofe who underftand ever fo little of
mufic know that high and loud, and foft
and low, are by no means neceflarily con-
neded, and that we may be very foft in
a high note, and very loud in a low one ;
juft as a fmart ftroke on a bell may have
0^3 ' exadly
23© ELEMENTS OF
exadly the fame note as a flight one,
though it is confiderably louder. But to ex-
plain this difference to thofe who are un-
acquainted with mufic, we may fay, that
a high tone is that we naturally aifume
when we wifh to be heard at a diilance,
as the fame degree of force is more audi-
ble in a high, than in a low tone, from
the acutenefs of the former, and the gra-
vity of the latter ; and that a low tone is
that we naturally aflume when we are
fpeaking to a perfon at a fmall diftance,
and wilh not to be heard by others ; as a
low tone with the fame force is lefs audi-
ble than a high one ; if, therefore, we raife
our voice to the pitch we fhould naturally
life if we were calling to a perfon at a
great diftance, and at the fame time exert
fo fmall a degree of force as to be heard
only by a perfon who is near us, we fhall
have an example of a high note in a foft
tone ; and, on the contrary, if we fup-
ELOCUTION. 231
pofe ourfelves fpeaking to a perfon at a
fmall diflancc, and wifli not to be heard
by thofe who are at a Httle greatef, in this
fituation we fhall naturally fink the voice
into a low note, and throw juft as much
force or loudnefs into it as is neceiTary to
make it audible to the perfon we are fpeak-
ing to. By this experiment we perceive,
that high and loud, and foft and low,
though moft frequently aifociated, are ef-
fentially diftin£t from each other.
Such, however, is the nature of the
human voice, that to begin in the extremes
of .high and low are not equally danger-
ous. The voice naturally Aides into a
higher tone, when we want to fpeak
louder, but not fo eafily into a lower tone,
when we would fpeak more foftly. Expe-
rience fhows us, that we can raife our
voice at pleafure to any pitch it is capable
of; but the fame experience tells us, that
it requires infinite art and pradice to
0^4 bring
232 E L E M E N T S O F
bring the voice to a lower key when it is
once raifed too high. It ought therefore
to be a firfl: principle with all public readens
and fpeakers, rather to begin under
the common level of their voice than
■above it. The attention of an auditory
at the commencement of a ledlure or ora-
tion, makes the fofteft accents of the
fpeaker audible, at the fame time that it
affords a happy occafion for introducing a
variety of voice, without which every ad-
drefs muft foon tire. A repetition of the
fame fubjed: a thoufand times over, is not
more tirefome to the under Handing, than
a monotonous delivery of the moft varied
fubje(3: to the ear. Poets, to produce va-
riety, alter the flrudure of their verfe,
and rather hazard uncouthnefs and dif-
cord than famenefs. Profe writers change
the ftyle, turn, and ftrudure of their pe-
riods, and fometimes throw in exclama-
tions, and fometimes interrogations, to
roufe
ELOCUTION. 2J3
roufe and keep alive the attention ; but
all this art is entirely thrown away, if
the reader does not enter into the fpirit of
his author, and by a fimilar kind of ge-
nius, render even variety itfelf more va-
rious ; if he does not by an alteration in
his voice, manner, tone, gefture, loud-
nefs, foftnefs, quicknefs, flownefs, adopt
every change of which the fubje<ft is fuf-
ceptible.
Every one, therefore, who would ac-
quire a variety of tone in public reading
or fpeaking, muft avoid as the greateft evil
a loud and vociferous beginning ; and for
that purpofe it would be prudent in a
reader or fpeaker, to adapt his voice as if
only to be heard by the perfon who is
nearefl to him ; if his voice has natural
ftrength, and the fubjeft any thing impaf-
fioned in it, a higher and louder tone will
infenlibly Ileal on him ; and his greateft
addrefs muft be dire<^ed to keeping it
within
234 ELEMENTS OF
within bounds. For this purpofe, it will
t)e frequently neceffary for him to recall
his voice, as it were, from the extremities
of his auditory, and direct it to thofe who
are neareft to him. This it will be proper
to do almoft at the beginning of every pa-
ragraph in reading, and at the introduc-
tion of every part of the fubjed: indifcourfe.
Nothing will fo powerfully work on the
voice, as fuppofing ourfelves converfmg
at different intervals with different parts
of the auditory.
For though high and loud, and foft and
low, are effentially diftind:, our exprefling
them fo frequently together makes it diffi-
cult for us to avoid being too high when
we are loud, and too foft when we are
low ; but as loudnefs is apt to lead us into
a vicious extreme, from which it is the
mofl difficult to recover ourfelves ; foftnefs
has a tendency to reduce the voice to its
natural pitch, and give it a fr€fh vigour,
from
ELOCUTION. 23J
from bringing it again within the fphere
of its greateft power and activity.
A very judicious writer on this fubjedl
directs a reader or fpeaker, upon his firft
addreffing his auditory, to fix his eyes
upon that part of them from which he is
the fartheft, and to pitch his voice fo as to
reach them. This, I fear, would be at-
tended with very ill confequences if the
aflembly were very large ; as a fpeaker
would be ftrongly tempted to raij'e his
voice, as well as intreafe its force ; and
by this means begin in a key much too
high for the generality of his auditory, or
for his own powers to continue it. The
fafeft rule, therefore, is certainly to begin,
as it were, with thofe of the affembly that
are neareft to us ; and if the voice be but
articulate, however low the key may be,
it will ftill be audible ; and thofe who have
a fufficient ftrength of voice for a public
auditory, find it fo much more difficult to
bring
*236 ELEMENTS OF
bring down than to raife the pitch, that
they will not wonder I employ my chief
care to guard againft an error by far the
moft common, as well as the moft dan-
gerous.
Few fpeakers have a voice too weak for
the public, if properly managed ; as audi-
bility depends much more on a proper
pitch of voice, accompanied with diftinc-
nefs of articulation, than on a boifterous
and fonorous loudnefs ; this is evident from
the diftincStnefs with which we hear a good
adrefs in the eafy chit chat of genteel co-
medy ; nay, even a fpeech afide, which is
little more than a whifper, though uttered
in a lower tone of voice, is fo articulated
by a judicious ador, as to be equally audi-
ble with the loudeft burfts of paflion. A
voice, therefore, is feldom inaudible from
its want of force, fo much as from its want
of modulation ; and this modulation de-
pends fo much on not fuffering the voice
to
ELOCUTION. 237
to begin above its natural pitch, that too .
much care cannot be taken to guard againft
it.
Much, undoubtedly, will depend on
the fize and ftrudture of the place we
fpeak in : fome are fo immenfely large,
as many of our churches and cathedrals,
that the voice is nearly as much diffipated
as in the open air ; and often with the ad-
ditional inconvenience of a thoufand con-
fufed echos and re-echos. Here a loud
and vociferous fpeaker will render himfelf
unintelligible in proportion to his exer-
tion of voice : as departing and com-
mencing founds will encounter each other,
and defeat every intention of diftindinefs
and harmony.
Nothing but good articulation will
make a fpeaker audible in this fituation ;
and a judicious attention to that tone of
voice which is moll fuitable to the lize and
imperfe(ftions of the place. If the place we
fpeak
138 ELEMENTS OF
fpeak in be but fmall, it will be fcarcely
neceflary to obferve that the loudnefs of
the voice fhould be in proportion. Thofe
who have not ears fuificiently delicate to
difcern the true quantity of found necef-
fary to fill the place they fpeak in, ought
to take every poflible method to acquire
fo effential a qualification. A knowlege
of mufic, many trials of diflFerent degrees
of loudnefs, and the friendly criticifm of
good judges, may do much towards ac-
quiring this accomplifhment ; and it mull
ever be remembered, that high and low
are eflentially diftind from loud and foft ;
as we may with the utmoft propriety be
at the higheft note of our voice in the
fmalleft room, provided we are not too
loud, and ufe the loweft part of our voice
in the largeft, provided we are not too
foft and indiftindt to be heard.
In order to reduce the foregoing ob-
fervations to pradice, it may not be
unpro-
ELOCUTION. 239
unprofitable to attend to the following
rules.
Rule I. To gain a habit of lowering
the voice, it will be neceflary to drop the
voice to a lower key upon the end of one
fentence ; and to commence the next fen-
tence in the fame low key with which we
concluded the former ; for this purpofe it
will be neceffary to fele£t fentences where
this pronunciation is eligible, and pradife
upon them.
EXAMPLES.
Our fight is the molt perfed: and mofl de-
lightful of all our fenfes. It fills the mind
with the largeft variety of ideas, converfes
with its objects at the greateft diftance, and
continues the longed in ad:Ion without being
tired or fatiated with its proper enjoyments.
The fenfe of feeling can indeed give us a no-
tion of extenfion, ihape, and all other ideas
that enter at the eye, except colours ; but at
the fame time it is very much ftraitened and
confined in its operations to the number, bulk,
and diftance of its particular objedis.
Spe^ator, N''4ii.
240 ELEMENTS OF
I fliall firft confider thofe pleafures of the
imagination which arife from the adtual view
and furvey of outward objedts ; and thefe, I
think, all proceed from the fight of what is
great, uncommon, or beautiful. There may,
indeed, be fomething fo terrible or ofFenfive,
that the horror or loathfomenefs of the objedt
may overbear the pleafure which rcfults from
its greatnefs, novelty, or beauty ; but ftill there
will be fuch a mixture of delight in the very
difguft it gives us, as any of thefe three qua-
lifications are moft confpicuous and prevailing.
SpeBator, NP 412.
*The fenfe of feeling in the firft example,
and there may indeed^ in the fecond, may-
very properly commence in a low tone of
voice, as this tone is generally fuitable to
the conceffion contained in each of the
fentences.
Similes in poetry form proper exam-
amples for gaining a habit of lowering
the voice.
He above the reft.
In Ihapc and gcfturc proudly eminent.
Stood
ELOCUTION^ 241
Stood like a tow'r. His form had not yet loft
All her original brightnefs, nor appeared
Lefs than archangel ruin*d and th* excefs
Of glory obfcur'd ; as when the fun new ris^n
Looks through the horizontal mifty air
Shorn of his beams ; or from behind the moon
In dim eelipfe difafl'rous twilight fheds
On half the nations, and with fear of change
Perplexes raonarchs. MiUon^s Fcn-ad. Loji.
Jn this example are two fimiles in fuccef*
fiori J and it ttiay be obferved, that in or-
der to pronounce them properly the voic^
ought to be twice lowered; that is, on
the firft fimile at as when thefun^ and then
at or from behind the moon^ which laft fi-
mile muft be in a lower tone of voice than
the former, and both nearly in a mono*,
tone.
Rule II. This lowering of the voice
Will be greatly facilitated if we begin the
words we wilh to lower the voice upon,
in a monotone or famenefs of found, ap-
proaching to that produced by repeatedly
Vol. IL R ftriking
242 ELEMENTS OF
^riklng the fame key of a harpfichordl
Thus in the following paflage from Dr.
Akenfide^s Pleafures of Imagination ;
With what attta(ftive charms this goodly
frame
Of nature,, touches the confenting hearts
Of mortal men ; and what the j^eafing {lores
"Which beauteous imitation thence derives.
To deck the poetV or the painter's toil^
My verfe unfolds. Attend ye gemle pow'rs
Of muiical delight ! and while I fing
Your gifts,,your honors, dance around my flrain^
Thou, fmiling queen of ev'ry tuneful breafl:^.
Indulgent Fancy ; from the fruitful banks
Of Avon, whence thy rofy fingers cull
Frefh flow'rs, and dews, to fprinkle on the turf
Where Shakfpeare lies, be prefcnt ; and with
thee
Let Fiftion come upon her vagrant wings.
Wafting ten thoufand colours through the air >
And by the glances of her magic eye.
Combining each in endlcfs fairy forms
Her wild Creation. Godclefs of the lyre.
Which rules the accents of the moving fphere^
Wilt
ELOCUTION. 243
Wilt thou, eternal Harmony, defcend.
And join this feftive train ? for with thee comes
The guide, the guardian of their lovely fports,
Majeftic Truth ; and whcreTruth deigns to come
Her fifter Liberty will not be far.
Be prefent all ye Genii, who conduct
The wand'rbg footfteps of the youthful bard.
New to your fprings and fhades ; who touch
his ear
With finer founds ; who heighten to his eye
The bloom of nature, and before him turn
The gayeft, happiell, attitudes of things.
Pleafures of Imagination, Book I.
This exordium confifts of an invocation
of feveral poetic powers, each of which
ought to be addrefled in a manner fome-
what different ; but none of them admits
of a difference fufBcient to give a variety
to a long paragraph, except that of eter-
nal harmony : and this from its nature re-
quires a folemn monotone in a much
lower key than the reil : if therefore we
pronounce the words,
R 2 God-
244 ELEMENTS OF
Goddefs of the lyre,
Which rules the accents of the moving fphcref
if, I fay, we pronounce thefe words in a.
low monotone, without any inflexion of
voice on- them ; we fhall throw a gxeat va^
riety into the whole invocation, and give
it at the fame time that expreflion which-
the importance of the fubjedt demands.
Rule III. A» €tw voices ire perfed: ;
thofe which have a good bottom often
wanting a top, and ir»rerfely ; care fliould
be taken to improve by practice that part
of the voice which is moft deficient : fbr
inftance ; if we want to gain* a bottom, we
ought to'pradtife fpecches which require*
exertion, a little below the common pitch ;
when vf'Q can do this with eafe, we may
pradife them on a little lower note, and fb
On till we are as low as we dcfire ; for thisr
purpofe, it will be necelTary to repeat fuch
palTages as require a full audible tone of
i?pice in a low key : of this kind is the
fpeecb
^ X O C U T I O N, 245
Ipeech of king John to Hubert, where he
takes him afide, and tempts him to under-
take the death of prince Arthur :
Come hither Hubert. O, my gentle Hubert,'
Wee owe thee much ; within this wall of fleih
There is a foul counts thee her creditor.
And with advantage means to pay thy love.
And, my good friend, thy voluntary oath
lyjves in this bofom, dearly cherifhed.
tjrive me thy hand, Ifhad 2 thing to' fay-
But I will fit it with fome better time.
By heav*n, Hubert, I'm almoft afham*d
To fay what good refped: I have of thee.
Hub, I am much bounded to your majelly.
K. John. Good friend, thou hall. no caufe to
fay fo yet.
But thou ihalt have— and creep time ne'er {q
flow,
^et it Ihall come.for me to do thee. good.
I had athing to fay,-'^but4etit go,;
The fun is in the heav*n, and the proud day
Attended with the pleafures of the world,
.Is all too, wanton and too full of gaudes
To .'give me audience. If the midnight bell
R 3 Pid
^46 ILEMITNTSOF
Did with iiis iron tongue and bra^ert mcfut^^ f
Sound one unto the drowfy race of night ;
If this fame were a church-yard where we ftand.
And thou poffeffed with a thoufand wrongs ;
Or if that furly fpiric Melancholy
Had bak'd thy blood, -and made it heavy,-*
thick,
Which elfe runs trickling up and down tb«
veins,
Making that ideot laughter keep men's eyes.
And ftrain their cheeks to idle merriment,
(A paffion hateful to my purpofes)
Or if that thou couldft fee me without eyes.
Hear me without thine ears, and make reply
. Withe It a tongue, ufing conceit alone.
Without eyes, ears, and harmful found of words,
Then in defpight of broad-ey'd watchful day
I would into thy bofom pour my thqughts : "
But ah,' I will not — yet I love thee well,
And by my troth, I think thou ]ov*ft me well.
Hub. So well, that what yoq bid me under-
take,
Though that my death were adjunft to my ad:.
By heav'n I'd do't.
K> John, Do I not know thou wouldfl?
Goo4
ELOCUTION. 247
C5ood Hubert, Hubert, Hubert, throw thine
eye
On that young boy ; VU tdl the« what, my
friend.
He is a very ferpent in my way.
And wherefoe'er this foot of mine doth tread.
He lies before me. Do'fl thou underiland me?
Thou art his keeper.
Hub. And I'll keep him fo.
That he fliall not offend your raajefly,
K. John. Death.
Hub. My Lord ?
K, John,, A grave.
Hub. He Ihall not live
K. Joh^. Enough*
I could be merry now. Hubert, I love thee ;
Well, Pll not fay what I intend for thee z
Remember.
I have quot-ed this beautiful pafll^ge at
length, as I think almoft every part of it
affords an opportunity of pra(5tifing to
fpeak with force and energy upon a lower
tone of the voice j for the whole fcenc
fnay be confidered as only an earnefi
R 4 whi£.
248 ELEMENTS Of
whifper ; but as this whifper muft be
heard by a whole audience, it is neceflary
while we lower the pitch, to add to the
force of the voice : this, however, is no
eafy operation, and none but good readers,
and confummate adors, can do it per-
fedly. It is no very difficult matter to be
loud ill a high torie of voice, but to l?p
loud and forcible in a low to^e, requires
great practice and management ; this,
however, may be facilitated by pronounc-
ing forcibly at firft in a low monotone ;
a monotone, though in a low key, and
whhoijt force, is much more fbnorous and
^udible than when the voice Aides up and
down at almoft every word, as it muft do
to be various. This tone is adopted by
adlors wheji they repeat pafTages afide.
They are to give the idea of fpeaking to
themfelvcs, in fuch a manner as not to be
heard by the pcrfon witli them on the
ftage, and yet muft ncccflarily be heard
by
ELOCUTION. 249
by the whole theatre. The monotone in
a low key anfwers both thefe purpofes*
It conveys the idea of being inaudible to
the adors with them in the fcene, by be-
ing in a lower tone than that ufed in the
dialogue ; and by being in a monotone be-
comes audible to the whole houfe. The
monotone therefore, becomes an excellent
vehicle for fuch pafTages as require force
and audibility in a low tone, and in the
hands of a judicious reader or fpeaker is
a perpetual fource of variety.
Rule IV. When we would ftrengthen
the voice in a higher note, it will be ne-
ceflary to pradife fuch paflages as require
a high tone of voice ; and if we find the
voice grow thin, or approach to a fqueak
upon the high note, it will be proper to
fwell the voice a little below this high note,
and to give it force and audibility by throw-
ing it into a famenefs of tone approach-
ing the monotone. A fpeech of Titus
Quin--
25a ELEMENTS OF
Qumtius to the Roman people, ironically
encouraging them to the greateil exceffes,
}§► a good praxis, for the higher tone of
yoice.-
::;When you are to contend with us, you qan
fei^e the Aventine hill, you c*n poffefs your-
felves of the Mons Sacer, the enemy is at our
gates, the ^fquiline is near being taken, and
nobody ftirs to hinder it. But againft us you
are valiant, again ft us you can arm with all di-
ligence. Come on then, befiege the Senate-
houfe, make a camp of the forum, fill the jails
with our chief nobles, and when you have at-
chieved thefe glorious exploits, then at the
leaft, fally out at the TEfqailine gate with the
fame fierce fpirits againft the enemy. Does
your refolution fail you for this ? Go then,
and behold from our walls, your lands ravag-
ed, your houfes plundered and in flames, the
whole country laid wafte with fire and fword.
Have you any thing here to repair thefe da-
mages ? Will the tribunes make up your lofTes
to you ? They will give ypu words as many as
};.ou pleafe ; bring impeachments in abundance
againft
ELOCUTION, 251
again ft the prime men of the ftate ; heap laws
upon laws, aiTemblies you ihail have without
end; but will any of you • return the richer
from thefe aiTemblies ? Extinguilh, O Romans!
thefe fatar divifions; generoufly break this
curfcd enchantment, which keeps you buried
in a fcan^alous ina(3:ion.-<^Open your eyes> and
conlider the management of thoie ambitious
men, who,- to make themfelyes powerful in
their party, ftudy. nothing but hOw they; way
foment divisions in the commonwealth. .
There are few voices fo ftrong in tlie
upper notes as to be able to pronounce
this fpeech with the fpirit it demands';
care muft be taken therefore, particularly
in the ironical parts, to keep the voice
from going too high, for which purpofe
it ought to approach to a monotone in the
high notes required upon the words — >
againjl us you are valiajtt — againjl us you
can arm ivith all diligence — and particu-
larly upon the queftions — Does your refo^
fi^n fail you for this ? Have you any thing
here
25^ £ L E M E -N T S O F
here to repair thefe damages ? Will the trU
hunes make up your lojjes to you F And the
fame conduct of tlie voice muft be obferv-
ed upon the four fucceeding ironical nuem-
ber<s.
But no exercife will be fo proper to
inure the voice to high notes as frequently
to pronounce a fuccelTion of queftions,
wliich require tlie rifing inflexion of voiqe
at the end. Such is that in Cicero's Ora-
tion againft Verres.
O liberty'! O found once delightful to every
Roman ear''. O facred privilege of Roman
citizenfhip ! once facred^, now trampled up-
pn^. But what then^ ? Is it come to this?
Shall an inferior magi ftr ate /, a governor^ who
holds his whole power of the Roman people'',
in a Roman province'*', within fight of Italy ^,
bind-^, fcourge^, torture with fire, and red hot
plates of iron, and at the lad put to the infa-
fiious death of the crofs a Roman citizen^?
Another inftance of a fucceffion of quef-
jdons ending with the lifing inflexion, -we
find
E L O C tr T I O N. 2^^
Bad in the Oration of Demofthenes on the
Crown.
What was the part of a faithful citizen ? of
a prudent, an adive, and honeft minifter ?
"Was he not to fecure Euboea, as^ our defence
againllall attacks by (ea.'^l Was he not to make
Boeotia our barrier on the midland lide-^? The
cities bordering on Peloponnefus, our bulwark
oti that quarter-^? Was he not to attend with
due precaution to the importation of corn, that
this trade might be protedted through all its^
progrcfs up to our own harbour /? Was he not
to cover thofe diftridts, which we commanded
by feafonable detachments^ as the Proconefus,
the Cherfonefus, and Tenedos^? To exert him-
felf in the affembly for this purpofeA? While
with equal zeal he laboured to gain others to
OUT intereft and alliance, as Byzantium, Aby-
dus, and Euboea /? Was he not to cut off the
beft and mofl important refources of our ene-
mies, and to fupply thofe in which our coun-
try was defedive^? — And all this you gained
by my counfels and my adminillration.
Leland's Damojlhenes on the Crown,
It
^^4 KXE>M EKT S OF
It will naturally dccuT to every judkioiiii
reader, that this feries of queftions. ought
to rife gradually in force as they proceed,
and therefore it "wrill be necefTary to keep
the voice under at the beginning; to which,
this obfervation may be added, that as the
riflng inflexion ought to be adopted on
each queftion, the voice will be very apt
get too high near the end ; for which pur-
pofe it will be neceflary to fwell the voice
a little below its higheft pitch, and if we
cannot rife with eafe and clearnefs on every
particular to the laft, we ought to augment
the force on each that the whole may form
a fpecies of climax. ^ / ^^
"""^Rule V. When we would ffrengtHea
the voice in the middle tone, it will be ne-
ceflary TO exerciie the voice on very paf-
lionate fpeeches by pronouncing them** in
a loud tone, without luffcring the voice to
rife with the force, but pr^Terving all the
energy and loudneis we are able, in tlie
mid-
E L O C^T I O K. 25J
ifliddle tone of voice. { The following ex*
.ecration of Cbamont in the Orphan is a
good praxis for thi« puipofe:
So may this arm :
Throw him to th' earth, Hke a dead dog de-i
fpifedt
Lamenefs and leprofy, hlindnefs and lunacy.
Poverty, Ihame, pride, and the name of vilkia
Light on me, if Caftalio I forgive thee.
OrphaHj J£i iv» Scene 7.
The challenge of Macbeth to Banquo'$
ghoft, is another proper paflage for this
cxercife of the middle tone of voice.^
What man dare I dare :
Approach thou like the rugged Ruffian bear.
The armM rhinoceros or Hyrcanian tyger ;^
Take any Ihape but that, and my firm nerves-
Shall never tremble. Be alive again.
And dare me to the defart with thy fword ;
If trembling I inhibit, then proteft me
The baby of a girl. Hence, horrible Ihadow,
Unreal mock'ry, hence ! Why fo, — begone —
Rule
•6 ELEMENTS OF
Rule VI. When we have exerted th^
^i^oice to the highell pitch, it will be necei*
lary to bring it down to a lower, by begins
ning theiucceeding Tentence in a lower tone
pf voice, if the nature of the Tentence will
permit ; and if we are speaking extem-
pore, it will be proper to form the fen-
tence in Tuch a manner as to make it na*
turally require a lower tonejA good praxis
for recovering the voice when it is carried
to its utmoft pitch is the furious reTent-
ment and indignation of Pofthumus againft
himfelf for giving credit to the infidelity
of Imogen.
Jachmo. This Pofthumus — methlnks I fee
him now —
Tojl. Ay, fo thou doft
Italian fiend ! ah me, moft credulous fool.
Egregious murderer, thief, any thing,
That's due to all the villains pad, in being,
To come — oh give me cord, or knife, or poifoil
Some upright j 11 fticer ! Thou king, itnd out
For torturers ingenious ; it is 1
That
'■t!^
E L O C U T I O 1^. 257
That all th* abhorred things o'th*earth amend
By being worfe than they. 1 am Poflhumus
That kill'd thy daughter ; villain-like I lye.
That eaus'd a lefler villain than myfelf,
A facrilegious thief* to do^t. The temple
Of virtue was flie, yea, and flie herfelf —
Spit and throw (tones, caft mire upon me, fee.
The dogs o'th' ftreet to bait me : every villain
Be caird Poilhumus Leonatus, and
Be villainy lefs than 'twas. Oh ! Imogen,
My queen, my life, my wife! Oh Imogen !
Imogen ! Imogen !
In this example, we find the fury of the
paflion very apt to carry the voice too high,
but the poet has very judicioufly thrown
in breaks and alterations in the pafTion,
which give the fpeaker an opportunity of
lowering and altering hi^ voice. Thus
the voice is at its higheft pitch of rage at
to come^ when the break and different
fhade of the fame palTion at, Oh give me
cord^ &c. affords an opportunity of lower-
ing the voice, by a mixture of intreaty.
"Jlie voice is at its utmoft extent of height
Vol. II. S at
258 £ L E M E N T S O F
at kill'd thy daughter ; as in this paflage
he declares openly his guilt, in order to
provoke his punifhment ; but the next
claufe, villain-like^ I lye^ gives a different
fliade of force to the voice by a mixture
of remorfe. The next fentence— 77;^ tem^
fie of virtue^ &c. has a regret and ten-
dernefs in it that affords an alteration of
voice, but as this alteration Hides into ex-
treme grief in which the voice is very apt
to go too high, the next fentence — Spit
and throw fionesy &c. — by the deep ha-
tred it falls into, gives the fpeaker an Op-
portunity of lowering and recovering the
force of his voice, in order to conclude
with that force and tendernefs which the
latter part of the fpeech necefTarily re-
quires. Thus, by properly diilingiiifliing
the diiferent fhades and mixtures of the
palTions, we not only produce variety, but
afford the voice fuch refources of energy,
as can alone fupport it in the pronunciation,
■ Rule
£ L O C tJ T I 0,^N. ±rg
ktile VII. When we are fpeaking ex-
tempore, and have carried the voice to
its utmoft extent in a high key, in order
tq_bring it down to a lower^^we ought, if
poiTible, to adopt Tome paffion which re-»
quires a low key^^ ; fuch as fhame, hatred,
admonition, &c, J Thus in the fpirited
fpeech of T. Quintiiis to the Roman peo-
ple, quoted under Rule IV. after the
voice is raifed as high as it can go, by fet--
ting forth the ironical advantages they
will have from the tribunes, it falls Very
properly into a low key, by exhorting the
Romans to be afhamed of the divifions
which expofe them to fuch miferies.
Think we fuch toils fuch caresdifturb thepeacc
Of heavVs bleft habitants ?— alike I fcorn
Thy perfon, and impofture, Milton,
The former part of this paffage raifes
the voice to the higheft pitch, and is finely
relieved and contrafted by the low tone
\fh.ich Jrxtrn requires in the conclufion.
S 2 G E S-
26o ELEMENTS OF
G E: S T IP R E*.
/*N ESTURE, confidered as a jiift and ele-
gant adaptation of every part of the
body to the nature and import of the fub-
jeft we are pronouncings, has always been
confidered as one of the moft eflentiaf
parts of oratory. Its power, as Cicero
obferves, h much greater than that' of
words. It is the language of nature in
the ftrideft fenfe, and makes its way to the
heart, without the utterance of a fingle
found. Ancient and modern orators arc
full of the power of action ; and adion,
as with the illuftrious Grecian orator, feems
to form the beginning, the middle, and
endx)f oratory.
Such, however, is the force of cuftom,.
that though we all confefs the power and
neceflity of this branch of public fpeak-
ing, we find few, in our own country at
leaftj that are hardy enough to put it in
prac-
ELOCUTION. 261
pradice. The mofl accomplifhed fpeak-
ers in the Britifli fenate, are very faulty
in their ufe of adion, and it is remark-
able that thofe who are excellent in every
other part of oratory are very deficient in
this. The truth is, though the reafon of
adion in fpeaking is in the nature of
things, the difficulty of acquiring the other
requifites of an orator, and the ftill greater
difficulty of attaining excellence in adion^
(which after all our pains is lefs efteemed
than excellencies of another kind) thefe,
I fay, feem to be the reafons why action
is fo little cultivated among us ; to this we
may add, that fo .different are national
taftes in this .particular, that hardly any
two people agree in the juft proportion 1 of
this fo celebrated quality of an orator.
Perhaps the finifhed adion of a Cicero, or
■a Demoflhenes, w^ould fcarcely be borne
in our times, though accompanied with
-ifvery other excellenoe. The Italians and
S 3 Freach^
262 ELEMENTS OF
French, though confeffedly "better public
fpeakers than the Englifh, appear to m
to overcharge their oratory with adion ;
and fome of their fineft ftrokes of adion
would, perhaps, excite our laughter. The
oratory, therefore, of the Greeks and Ror
inans in this pojnt, is as ill fuited to a Brj-
tifh auditor, as the accent and quantity of
the ancients is to the Englifh language.
The common feelings of nature, with the
figns that exprefs them, undergo a kind
of modification, which is fuitable to the
tafte and genius of every nation ; and it
is this national tafte which muft neceOarily
be the vehicle of every thing we convey
agreeably to the public we belong to.
Whether the action of the ancients wai^
cxceflive, or whether that of the Engliflx
is not too fcanty, is not the queftion : thofe
who would faccced as Englifli orators muft
fpeak to Englifti tafte ; as a general muft
learn the modem exercife of arms to com-.
ELOCUTION. 263
mand modern armies, and not the difci-
pline and weapons of the ancients.
But though the oratory of the moderns
does not require all thofe various evolu-
tions of gefture, which was almoft indif-
penfabk in the ancient, yet a certain de-
gree of it muft neceflarily enter into the
compolition of every good fpcaker and
reader. To be perfedly motionief« while
we are pronouncing words, which require
force and energy, is not only depriving
them of their necelFary fuppoft, but ren-
dering them unnatural and ridiculous. A
very vehement addrefs pronounced with-
out any motion, but that of the lips and
tongue, would be a burlefque upon the
meaning, and produce laughter ; nay, fo
unnatural is this total abfence of gefticu-
lation, that it is not very eafy to fpeak in
this manner.
As fome adion, therefore, muft necef-
farily accompany our words, it is of the
S 4 utmofl
264 ELEMENTS OP.
utmoft confequence, that this be fuch a^
is fuitable and natural. No matter how
little, if it be but a-kin to the words and
paflion ; for if foreign to them, it coun^
teradts and deftroys the very intention of
(delivery. The voice and gefture may be
faid to be tuned to each other ; and if they
are in a different key, as it may be called,
difcord muft inevitably be the confequence,
An awkward a<3:ion, and fuch as is un->
fuitable to the words and pafTion, is the
body out of tune, and gives the eye as
much pain as a difcord does the ear.
In order, therefore, to gain a juft idea
of fuitable adion and exprefTion, it wil}
\)e neceflary to obferve that every pa^ion,
emotion, and fentiment, has a particular
attitude of the body, caft off the eye, and
tone of the voice that particularly belongs
to that paflion, emotion, or fentiment ;
thefe (hould be carefully jfludied, and prac-
tif^d before a glafs when we arc alone ; and
hcfoXG
ELOCUTION. 265
before a few friends, whofe candour and
judgment we can rely on. Some good
piece of compofition fhould be then fe-
leded, and every period or fentence
be marked with that paffion, emotion, or
fentiment, indicated by the words, that
the eye in reading may be reminded of
the paffion or fentiment to be aflumed.
Thefe paffions and emotions, we fhould
^xprefs with the utmoft force and energy
we are able, when we are alone, that we
may wear ourfelves into the habit of af-
fuming them eafily in public. This for-
(:ible pra<5lice in private will have the fame
effed: on our public delivery, that dancing
a minuet has on our general air and de-
portment. What Pope fays of writing is
perfedly applicable to adion in oratory.
True eafe in adtion comes from art not chance.
As thofe move eafiell who have learn'd to dance.
To defcend, however, to a few of thofe
particulars to which it feem.s the moft ne^
ceffary
266 ELEMENTS OF
ceffary to attend ; it may not be improper
to take notice, that in reading much lefs
adion is required than in fpeaking. When
we read to a few perfons only in private,
it may not be ufelefs to obferve, that we
fhould accuftom ourfelves to read (land-
ing ; that the book fhould be held in the
left hand ; that we fhould take our eyes
as often as pofTible from the book, and
direct them to thofe that hear us. The
three or four laft words at leaft of every
paragraph, or branch of a fubje£t, fhould
be pronounced with the eye pointed to one
of the auditors. When any thing fub-
lime, lofty, or heavenly is exprefled, the
eve and the right hand may be very pro-
perly elevated ; and when any thing low,
inferior, or grovelling is referred to, the
eye and hand may be directed downwards ;
when any thing diftant or extenfive is
mentioned, the hand may naturally de-
fcribe the diftance or extent j and when
con-
ELOCUTION. 267
confcious virtue, or any heart-felt emotion,
or tender fentiment occurs, we may as
naturally clap the hand on the breaft.
^ In fpeaking extempore we fliould be
Iparing of the ufe of the left hand, which
may not ungracefully be concealed under
the waiftcoat, refting below the hip. The
fight hand, when ii), adlion^ ought to rife
extending from the fide, that is in a direc-
tion from left to right ; and then be pro-
pelled forwards, with the fingers open,
find ^i^afily, and differently curved : the
^rm fhould move chiefly from the elbow,
the hand feldom be ralfed higher than the
ihoulder, and when it has defcribed its |
objedt, or enforced its emphafis, ought to I
drop lifelefs down to the fide, ready to
commence adion afrefh. The utmoft
care muft be taken to keep the elbow from
inclining to the body, and to let the arms,
when not hanging at reft by the fide, ap-
proach to the adtion we call a-kimbow; we
muft
£68 ELEMENTS OF
muft be cautious too, in all adion but
lucb as defcribes extent or circumference,
to keep the hand or lower part of the arm
from cutting the perpendicular line that
divides the body into right and left ; but
above all we muft be careful to let the
ftroke of the hand which marks force, or
emphafis, keep exa<5t time with the force
of pronunciation 'A that is, the hand muft
go downHpon tlieemphatical word, and no
other : Thus in the execration of Brutus,
in Julius Caifar,
When Marcus Brutus grows fo covetous,
Ta lock fuch rafcal-counters from his friends,
Be ready gods with all your .thunderbolts,
jDq/h him in pieces.
Here the adion of the arm which enforces
the emphafis ought to be fo directed, that
the ftroke of the hand may be given ex-
actly on the word ^^yZ', this will give a
concomitant adion to the organs of pro^
nunciation, and by this means the whole
expref-
ELOCUTION. 269
expreffion will be greatly augmented.
This adion may be called beating time to-
the emphafis, and is as neceflary in for-
cible and harmonious fpeaking, as the
agreement between the motion of the feet
and the mufic in dancing.
Thefe are fome of the fimpleft and moll
neceflary diredions, and fuch as may be
followed with the greatelt fafety r obferv-
ing the action of the beft readers and
fpeakers, may, with fome cautions, be re-
commended to youth ; but cannot with
the fame fafety be propofed to thofe, who,
by long practice, are confirmed in habits
of their own ; it may, inftead of a modeft'
and negative kind of awk ward nefs, which
is fcarcely ofFenfive, fubftitute a real and
difgufting kind of mimickry ; and this- by
every perfon of the leafl tafte, will be
looked upon as a bad exchange.
To the generality of readers and fpeak-
ers, therefore, it may be propofed to make
ufe
270 ELEMENTS OF
ufe of no more adion than they can help^
If they are really in earneft, as they ought
to he, fome geftlculation will naturally
break out, and if it is kept within hounds^
it will always be tolerable. A man's own
feelings will often tpll him how far he
may venture with fafety ; for in that fitua-
tion which he finds the eafieft to himfelf,
he will appear moft agreeable to his au-
ditory. Such a fympathy do we find be-'
tween fpeaker and hearer, that the one can-
not be in an awkward fituation without
communicating a feeling of it to the other.
Thus have we endeavoured to delineate
thofe outlines, which nothing but good
fenfe* and tafte will fill up. The more
diflindly thefe lines are marked, the eafier
will be the finiftiing ; and if, inftead of
leaving fo much to tafte, as is generally
done, we were to pufli as far as poffible
our enquiries into thofe principles of truth
and beauty in delivery, vvhicli arc immut-
able'
ELOCUTION. 271
able and eternal ; if, I fay, we were to
mark carefully, the feemingly infinite va-
riety of voice and gefture in fpeaking and
reading, and compare this variety with the
various fenfes and paflions of which they
are expreflive -, from the fimplicity of na-
ture in her other operations, we have rea-
fon to hope, that they might be fo clafTed
and arranged, as to be of much eafier at*
tainment, and productive of much cer-
tainty and improvement, in the very diffi-
cult accomplifliment of a juft and agree-
able delivery.
HE
272
ELEMENTS OF
THE PASSIONS.
TT now remains to fay fomethiag of thofd
tones which mark the paffions and
emotions of the fpeaker. Thefe are in-
tirely independent on the modulation of
the voice, though often confounded with
It : for modulation relates only to fpeak-
ing either loudly or foftly, in a high or a
low key ; while the tones of the paffions
or emotions mean only that quality of
found that indicates the feelings of the
fpeaker, without any reference to the
pitch or loudnefs of his voice ; and it Is
in being eafily fufceptible of every paffion
and e;notion that prefents itfelf, and be-
ing able to exprefs them v/ith that pecu-
liar quality of found which belongs ta
them, that the great art of reading and
fpeaking confifts. When we fpeak our
own words, and are really impaffioned by
the occafion of fpeaking, the paffion or
emotion
ELOCUTION. 2J%
emotion precedes the words, and adopts
jBich tones as are fuitable to the paffion we
feel ; but when we read, or repeat from
tn-Qmorj, the pafTion Is to be taken up as
the words occur ; and in doing this weilj
the whole difficulty of reading or repeat-
ing from memory lies.
But it will be demanded, how are we
to acquire that peculiar quality of found
that indicates the paffion we wifli to ex-
prefs ? The anfwer is eafy : by feeling the
paffion which exprcfTcs itfelf by that pe-
culiar quality of found. But the que'ftion
will return, how are we to acquire a feel-
mg of the paffion ? The anfwer to this
'queftion is rather difcouraging, as it %ill
advife thofe who have not a power of im-
^affioning themfelves upon reading or
expreffing fome very pathetic paflage, to
turn their ftu^iies to fome other department
of learning, where nature may have beea
more favourable to their wiffies. But m
Vol, IL T therQ
274 ELEMENTS OF
there no method of afTifting us in acquir-
ing the tone of the paffion we want to ex-
prefs ; no method of exciting the paffion
in ourfelves when we wifli to exprefs it to
others? The advice of QuintiUan and Cicero
on this occafion, is, to reprefent to our ima-
gination, in the moft Hvely manner pof-
fible, all the moft ftriking circumftances
of the tranfadion we defcribe, or of the
paffion we wifh to feel. " Thus," fays
Quintilian, " if 1 complain of the fate of
*' a man who has been aflaffinated, may I
" not paint in my mind a lively pidlur^
*' of all that has probably happened on
** the occafion ? Shall not the affaffin ap-
" pear to rufli forth fuddenly from hig
" lurking-place ? Shall not the other ap-
" pear feized with horrors ? Shall he not
'' cry out, beg his life, or fly to fave it ?
*' Shall not I fee the affiiffin dealing the
** deadly blow, and the defencelefs wretch
" falling dead at his feet ? Shall not I
" figure
ELOCUTION. 275
*' figure to my mind, and by a lively im-
*' preffion, the blood gufhing from hid
,*' wounds, his ghaftly face, his groans,
*' and the laft gafp he fetches ?"
This muft be allowed to be a very na*
tural method of exciting an emotion in
the mind ; but ftill the woes of Others,
whether real or fictitious, will often mafc^
but a weak imprelTion on our own mind,
and will fail of affeding us with a fuffi-
cient force to excite the fame emotions in
the minds of our hearers. In this exi-
gence, it may not, perhaps, be unprofit-»
able, to call to our affiflance the device
of the ancient Grecian adlor Polus ; who,
when he had the part of Eledra to per-
form, and was to reprefent that princefs
weeping over the afhes of her brother
Oreftes, ordered the urn, which contained
the afhes of his dear and only fon to be
brought upon the ftage, and by this
means excited in himfelf the pitch of
T z grief
J.76 ELEMENTS OF
grief with which he wiflied to afFed his
audience*
Calling to mind, therefore, fuch paf-
fages of our own Ufe as are fimilar to thofe
we read or fpeak of, will, if I am not mif-
taken, confiderably aflift us in gaining
that fervor and warmth of expreffion,
which, by a certain fympathy, is fure to af-
fed thofe who hear us.
But our natural feelings are not always
to be commanded ; and when they are,
fland in need of the regulation and em*
belli(hments of art ; it is the bufinefs,
therefore, of every reader and fpeaker in
public to acquire fuch tones and geflures
as nature gives to the paflions ; that he
may be may be able to produce the fem-
blance of them when he is not adually
impalTioned. The feelings of men when
unpremeditatedly impaffioned will do won-
ders. We feldom hear a perfonexprefs
love, rage, or pity, when thefe paflions
are
ELOCUTION. 277
;are produced by a powerful objed: on the
fpot, without feeling in ourfelves the work-
ings of the paffions thus inftantaneoufly
produced. Here the reality of the fitua-
tion contributes greatly to our own feel-
ings, as well as to the feelings of the
fpeaker. The fpeech of a malefactor fel-r
dom fails to move us powerfully, however
WTetchedly delivered; and a perfon really
in the agonies of paffion moves us irrefift^
ibly. But thefe are fituations very dif-
ferent from the reader and fpeaker in pub-
lic. The reader has always a fiditious or
abfent paffion to exhibit ; and the public
fpeaker muft always produce his paffion
at a certain time and place, and in a cer-
tain order ; and in this fituation it is ge-
rally fuppofed by our befl: critics, that an
excefs of feeling, fuch as we have when
unpremeditately adiuated by ftrong paf-
fions, would render us incapable of ex-
preffing ourfelves, fo as properly to affed;
T 3 others.
278 ELEMENTS OF
others. I have myfelf feen Powel, in th6
charaQer of George Barnwell, fo over-
, whelmed with grief in that pathetic addrefs.
Be warn'd ye youths who fee my fad de-
fpair, &c.
as to be incapable of expreffing himfelf
in the moft pathetic manner to the audi-
ence. Hov/ever this be, certain it is, w6
ought to ftudy the efFeds and appear-
ances of the paffions, that we may be
able to exhibit them when we are not
really impaffioned ; and when we are, to
give paffion its mofl agreeable expreflion.
Mr. Burke has a very ingenious thought
on this fubjed: in his Origin of our Ideas
of the Sublime and Beautiful, He ob-
ferves, that there is fuch a connection be-
tween the internal feeling of a paffion,
and the external expreffion of it, that we
cannot put ourfelves in the pofturc, or
attitude, of any paffion, without commu-
nicating
•ELOCUTION. 279
nicating a certain degree of the paflion
itfelf to the mind. The fame may be ob-
ferved of the tone of voice which is pecu-
liar to each paflion : each paffion produces
an agitation of the body, which is accom-
panied by a correfpondent agitation of the
mind : certain founds naturally produce
certain bodily agitations, fimilar to thofe
produced by the paflions, and hence mufic
has power over the mind, and can difpofe
it alternately to joy, or forrow ; to pity,
or revenge. When the voice, therefore,
aflumes that tone which a mulician would
produce in order to exprefs certain paf-
fions or fentiments in a fong, the fpeaker,
like the performer on a mufical inftru-
ment, is wrought upon by the foiind he
creates ; and though adtive at the begin-
ning, at length becomes paflive, by the
found of his own voice on himfelf. Hence
it is, that though we frequently begin to
read or fpeak, without feeling any of the
T 4 paf-
:?8a ELEMENTS OF
j&OQ wc wifli to exprefs, we often end m
full poffeffion of it. This may ferve to^
fhow the necejHity of Undying and imi-
tating thofe tones, looks, and geftures,
that accompany the paffions, that we may
4ifpofe ourfelves to feel them mechani-
cally, ai:id ixnprove our expreffion of them
when we feel them fpontaneoiiily ; for by
the imitation of the paffion we meet it, as
it were, half way.
A paffion well defcribed, difpofes us to
the feeling of it, and greatly ailifts us in
exprclTing it with force and propriety ;
this fhows the neceffity of a good defcrip-
tion of the paffions, and how much the
art of fpeaking depends upon it. Thofe
who feel; the paffions the moft powerfully,
j.,nd unite with this feeling a power of
defcribing their feelings, are thofe from
whom we may expe(ft the beft pidures
of what paffiss in the foul. For this rea-
ion, good poets are generally the hdl
painters
ELOCUTION. 281
painters of the paffions ; and for this rea-^
fon too, we find the greaceil orators have
been moft converfant with the beft poets ;
for though it is not tiie bulinefs of the
poet, like that of the philofbpher, to en-
ter into a logical definition of the origin,
extent, and various relations of the paf-
fion he produces, he muft, however, feel
it llrongly, and exprefs it exadlly as we
fee it in nature, or it will fail in its efFe<it
on the ibul, which, in this cafe, judges
by a fort of inilind:. This, it is prefum-
ed, will be a fufRcient reafon for drawing
the examples that are given of the paf*
fions chiefly from the poets ; and of thefe
chiefly thofe in the dramatic line, as it is
in thefe that the paffions are generally the
moft: delicately and forcibly touched.
Aaron Hill, in his Eifay on the Art of
A(5ting, has made a bold attempt at fuch
a defcription of the paffions as may enable
an adlpr to adopt them mechanically, by
ihew-
282 - ELEMENTS OF
iliewiftg, that all the paffions require either
a braced or relaxed ftate of the finews,
and a peculiar caft of the eye. This fyf-
tem he lias fupported with much inge-
nuity, and it were to be wifhed he had
lived to give his original idea the finifh-
ing he intended ; and to have feen it com-
bated by oppofite opinions, that he might
have removed feveral objed:ions that lie
againft it, and render the truth of it a lit-
tle doubtful. It muft be owned, however,
that this writer deferves great praife for
the mere attempt he has made to form a
new fyftem, which, under fome reftri61:ions,
may not be without its ufe. It is certain,
that all the paffions, when violent, brace
the fmews ; grief, which, when moderate,
may be faid to melt or relax the frame,
•when accompanied by anguifh and bitter
complainings, becomes active and bracing*.
• Sec Dr. Johnfon's excellent remark upon the Speech
ef Lady Couftance in King John. Ad iii. fc. i.
Pity
ELOCUTION, 283
pity feems never to rife to a fufficient de-
gree of forrow to brace the fmews ; and
anger, even in the flighteft degree, feems
to give a kind of tenfion to the voice and
limbs. Thus Shakfpeare, as quoted by
this v/riter, has given us an admirable pic-
ture of this paflion in its violence, and
has made this violent tenfion of the ii-
news a confiderable part of its compo-
fition :
Now imitate the ad:Ion of the tyger;
Stiffen the finews, fummon up the blood ;
Lend fierce and dreadful afpe6; to the eye ;
Set the teeth clofe and ftretch the noftril wide;
Hold hard the breath and bend up ev'ry fpirit
To its fall height
To this may be added, that admirable pic-
ture of violent anger which Shakfpeare
puts in the mouth of Suffolk, in the Se-
cond Part of Henry VL
Would curfes kill as doth the mandrake's groan,
I would invent as bitter fearching terms.
As
S84 ELEMENTS OF
As curd, as harfh, and horrible to hear^,
Delivered ftrongly through m}' fixed teeth >
With full as many figns of deadly hate
As lean-faced Envy in her loathfome cave.
My tongue fhould ftumblc in mine ear neil words.
Mine eyes Ihould fparkle like the beaten fiint.
Mine hair be fixt on end like one diftraft.
Ay, ev'ry joint {hould feem to curfe and ban :
And, even now my burdcn'd heart would break,
Should I not curfe them.
Who can read thefe admirable defcriptions
of anger without finding his whole frame
braced, and his mind ftrongly tindiured
with the paffion delineated I How much
is it to be regretted that fo great a mafter
of the palhons as Shakfpeare, has not left
us a defer iption fmiilar to this of every
emotion of the foul ! But though he has
not defcribed every other paffion like this,
he has placed them all in fuch marking
points of view, as enables us to fee the
workings of the human heart from his
■^vritin^s, in a clearer and more affecting
' way
ELOCUTION. 2^5
way than in any other of our poets ; and
perhaps, the beft defcription that could be
given us of the paffions in any language,
may be extracted from the epithets he has
made ufe of. But to return to the fyftemi
Hill defines fcorn to be negligent anger,
and adds, " it is exprefled by languid
" mufcles, with a fmile upon the eye in
" the light fpecies, or a frown to hit the
" ferious." The reafon he gives for this
expreffion, is, " becaufe fcorn infmuates
"by a voluntary flacknefs, or difarming
" of the nerves, a known, or a concluded
" abfence of all power in the infulted ob-
" jed:, even to make defence feem necef-
" fary." This feems a very accurate pic-
ture of the paffion, and the flacknefs of
the nerves appears neceflarily to enter into
the proper method of exprefling it. But
what are we to think of his definition of
Joy ? " Joy," fays he, " is pride pofleiTed
'' of triumph." No author I have ever
yet
286 ELEMENTS OF
yet met with, has fuppofed pride to be a
neceflary part of the compofition of joy ;
though a degree of joy may form part of
the compofition of pride. Pity, he de-
fines to be adive grief for another's af-
flidions ; but this definition feems not to
include the moft leading trait of pity,
which is, benevolence and love ; and
though pity is always accompanied with
a degree of forrow, which often excites
us to aflift thofe we pity, yet pity is often
beftowed on objects we neither can nor
endeavour to aflift. The poets have al-
ways ftrongly marked this alliance be-
tween pity and love, and with great pro-
priety. When Blandford tells Oroonoko
he pities him : Oroonoko anfwers,
Do pity me ;
Pity's a-kin to love, and cvVy thought
Of that foft kind is welcome to my foul.
Oroonoko, Adt ii.
And
ELOCUTION. 287
And Dryden, in his Alexander's Feaft,
after defcribing the power of Timotheus
in exciting his hero's pity for the fad fate
of Darius, fays :
The mighty mafter fmird to fee,
That love was in the next degree ;
*Tvvas but a kindred found to move.
For pity melts the foul to love.
And Julia, in the Two Gentlemen of Ve-
rona, fays of Proteus :
Becaufe he loves her he defpifes me ;
Becaufe I love him, I mufl: pity him. AQ; Iv,
Poets, who, where the paffions are con-
cerned, are generally the beft philofophers,
conftantly defcribe love and pity as melt-
ing the foul : but how does this agree with
the intenfe mufcles with which Hill marks
the expreffion of both thefe paffions ? And
how, according to this writer, can the
mufcles be intenfe and the eye languid at
the iar.at time, as he has defcribed them
in
iB8 ELEMENTS OF
in pity ; or is it conceivable that the eye
can exprefs an emotLon direQ:ly contrary
to the feelings of the whole frame ? The
diftiaQ:ion, therefore, of braced and un-
braced mufcleSj upon which his whole
fyftem turns, (eems at befl but a doubtful
iiypotheljs ; and touch too hidden and un-
certain for the direction of fo important a
matter as the expreffion of the paffions*
Modelling the attitude, countenance, and
voice, to the expreilion of a paffion, may
not only give the beholder an idea of the
paHion w^e imitate, but fen'^e, in fome mea-
fiire, to awaken a feehng of it in ourfelvt^s ;
this is agreeable to experience and found
philcfophy ; but bracing or relaxing the
iiaews feems to be entering too boldly
into the facred recelFes of nature, and
taking her peculiar work out of her own
proper hands.
In the following difplay of the paffions,
thereforcj nc-thing farther is intended^
thaa
ELOCUTION. 289
than fuch a defcription of them as may
ferve to give an idea of their external ap-
pearance, and fuch examples of their ope-
rations on the foul as may tend to awaken
an original feeling of them in the bread
of the reader. But it cannot be too care-
fully noted that, if poffible, the expref-
fion of every paffion ought to commence
within. The imagination ought to be
ftrongly imprefled with the idea of an ob-
ject which naturally excites it, before the
body is brought to correfpond to it by
fuitable gefture. This order ought never
to be reverfed, but when the mind is too
cold and languid to imbibe the pafTion
firft, and in this cafe an adaptation of the
body to an expreflion of the paffion, will
either help to excite the paffion we wifh
to feel, or in fome meafure fupply the ab-
le nee of it.
The two circumftances that moPc ftrongly
jtiark the expreffion of paffion, are the
Vol, II, U tone
igo ELEMENTS OF
tone of the voice, and the external ap-
pearance of countenance and gefture ;
thefe we fhall endeavour to defcribe, and
to each defcrlption fubjoin an example
for pra£tice.
In the following explanation and de-
fcription of the paflions, [I have been
greatly indebted to a very ingenious per-
formance called the Art of Speaking * ;
this work, though not without its imper-
fections, is on a plan the moft ufeful that
has hitherto been adopted. The paflions
are firfl defcribed, then paflages are pro-
duced which contain the feveral paflions,
and thefe paflions are marked in the mar-
gin as they promifcuoufly occur in the
the paflage. This plan I have adopted,
and I hope not without fome degree of
improvement. For after the defcription
of the feveral paflions, in which I have
* Attributed to the late Mr. Burgh, author of Political
Dif(^uilitions.
fre-
ELOCUTION. ^gt
frequently departed widely from this au-
thor, I have fubjoined examples to each
paflion and emotion, which contain fcarcely
any paflion or emotion but that defcribed ;
and by thus keeping one pailion in view
at a time, it is prefumed the pupil will
more ealily acquire the imitation of it,
than by pafling at once to thofe pafTages
where they are fcattered promifcuoufly in
fmall portions. But though this aflbcia-
tion of the fimilar paffions is certainly an
advantage, the greateft merit is due to the
author above mentioned ; who, by the di-
vifion of a pafTage into its feveral paf-
fions, and marking thefe paffions as they
occur, has done real fervice to the art of
fpeaking, and rendered his book one of
the moll ufeful that has been hitherto
publifhed.
U2 I'ilAN-
292 ELEMENTS OF
T R A N Q.U I L I T Y.
np H E firft piif^ure of the paffions (if it
may be called fo) is tranquility.
Tranquility appears by the compofure
6f the countenance, and general repofe
of the whole body, without the exertion
of any one mufcle. The countenance
open, the forehead fmooth, the eyebrows
arched, the mouth jitfl: not fhut, and the
eyes paffing with an eafy motion from ob-
jed: to objed:, but not dwelling long upon
any one. To diftinguifh it, however,
from infenfibility, it feems necefTary to
give it that call: of happinefs which bor-
ders on chearfulnefs.
CHEAR FULNESS.
When joy is fettled into a habit, or flows
from a placid temper of mind, defiring
to pleafe and be pleafed, it is called gaiety,
good-humour, or chearfulnefs.
Chearfulnefs adds a fmile to tranquility,
and opens the mouth a little more.
ELOCUTION, 293
Chearfulnefs in retirement.
Now my co-mates, and brothers in exile.
Hath not old cuftom made this life more fweet
Than that of painted ponip? Are not thefc
woods
More free from peril than the envious court ?
Here feel we but the penalty of Adam
The feafon*s difference ; as the icy phang
And churlilh chiding of the winter's wind.
Which when it bites and blows upon my body
Ev'n till I Ihrink with cold, I fmile and fay.
This is no flattery ; fhefe are counfellors
That' feelingly pcrfuade me what I am ;
Sweet are the ufes of adv'erfity.
That like a toad, ugly and venemous.
Wears yet a precious jewel in its head;
And this our life exempt from public haunts.
Finds tongues In ti'eeSj books in the runnings
brooks^
Sermons in ftoues^ and good in every thing.
^hakefpar's As I'ou Like It.
MIR T H.
When joy arifes from ludicrous or
fugitive amufemetits in which others
y 3 fliare
«94 ELEMENTS OF
Ihare with us, it is called merriment or
mirth.
Mirth, or laughter, opens the mouth
horizontally, raifes the cheeks high, lef-
fens the aperture of the eyes, and when
violent, fhakes and convulfes the whole
frame, fills the eyes with tears, and oc-
cafions holding the fides from the pain
the convulfive laughter gives them.
Invocation of the Goddefs of Mirth.
But corpe, thou goddefs, fair and free.
In heav'n y'clep'd Euphrofyne,
And of men heart-eafing Mirth j
Whom lovely Venus at a birth,
"Vyith two lifter graces more.
To ivy-crowned Bacchus bore.
Come thou nymph and bring with thee.
Mirth and youthful Jollity ;
Quips, and cranks, and wanton wiles ;
Kods, and becks, and wreathed fmiles ;
Such as hang on Hebe's cheek.
And love to live in dimples lleek :
Sport, that vvrinkl'd Care derides.
And Laughter holding both his fides :
Coms
ELOCUTION. 295
Come and trip it as ye go.
On the light fantaflic toe ;
And in thy right hand bring with thee.
The mountain nymph fweet Liberty.
Milton\s Comus.
'Laughter on feeing a jhrewd buffoon.
A fool, a fool, I met a fool i'th* forefl,
A motley fool, a miferable varlet ;
As I do live by food I met a fool,
Who laid him down, and baik'd him in the fun
And raird on lady Fortune in good terms ;
Li good fet terms, and yet a motley fool ;
Good morrow fool, quoth I, no fir, quoth he.
Call me not fool, till heav'n hath fent me for-
tune ;
And then he dre\y a dial frpm his poak
And looking on it with lack-luftre eye,
Says very wifely, it is ten o'clock ;
Thus may we fee, quoth he, how the world wag?,
'Tis but an hour ago fince it was nine,
And after one hour more 'twill be eleven.
And fo from ^our to hour we ripe and ripe.
And then from hour to hour we rot and rjot.
And thereby hangs a tale. When I did hear
The motley fool thus moral on the time,
U ^ ^ My
29^ ELEMENTS OF
My lungs began to crow like chanticleer.
That fools Ihould be fo deep contemplative
And I did laugh fans intermiflion
An hour by his dial. O noble fool !
A worthy fool ! motley's the only wear.
Shakfpeares As you Like It,
RAILLERY.
Raillery without animofity, puts on thc^
afpe<9: ;pf chearfulnefs ; the countenance
{miling, and the tone of voice fprightly.
^.allying a per/on for being melancholy »
Let r-^e play the fool
With n '.rth and laughter;, fo let wrinkles come.
And let my liver rather heat with wine,
Than my heart cool with mortifying groans.
Why Ih juld a man whofe blood is warm within.
Sit like 'lis grandfire cut in alabafter ?
Sleep when he wakes, and creep into the jaun-
dice
By beirg peevifh ? I tell thee what, Anthonio
(I love thee, and it is my love that fpeaks) ;
There are a fort of men whofe vifages
Do cre;ym and mantle like a ftanding pond,
And
ELOCUTION, 297
And do a wilful ft illnefs entertain.
With purpofe to be drefl in an opinion
Of wifdom, gravity, profound conceit,
As who Ihould fay, I am fir Oracle,
And when I ope my lip's, let no dog bark I
O my Anthonio, I do know of thofe.
That therefore only arc reputed wife.
For faying nothing ; who Vm very fure
If they ihould fpeak would almoft damn thofc
ears,
Which hearing them would call their brothers
fools ;
I'll teil thee more of thiy another time.
But filh not with this melancholy bait ^i
For this fool's gudgeon, this opinion, rn
Come, good Lorenzo, fare ye well a wllile
J'll end my exhortation after dinner.
SNEER. !^
Sneer is ironical approbation : where
with a voice and countenance of;mirth
fomewhat exaggerated we cafl the feverefl
cenfures ; it is hypocritical mirth and good
humour, and differs from the real by the
fly, arch, fatirical tone of voice, lobT , and
^efture, that accompany it.
2gB E;.EMENTS0F
Scoffing affuppofed cowardice,
Satan beheld their plight.
And to his mates th.us in derifion callM :
O friends why come not on thofe victors proud?
Ere while they fierce were coming, and when we
To entertain them fair wifh open front
And brcaft (what could jve more) propounded
terms
Of compofition, flraight they chang'd their
minds.
Flew off, and into flrange vagaries fell
As they would dance : yet for a dance they lbem*d
Somewhat extravagant and wild, perhaps
For joy of offer'd peace, but I fuppofe
If our propofals once again were heard
We Ihould compel them to a quick refult.
Milton's Faradife Lqfi,
JOY.
A pleafing elation of mind, on the ac^
tual or aflured attainment of good, or deli-
verance from evil, is called Joy.
Joy, when moderate, opens the coun-
tenance with fmiles, and throws, as it were,
a fuq:-
E L O C tJ T i O N. 299
a funfliine of delegation over the whole
frame : when it is fudden and violent, it
expreffes itfelf by, .clapping the hands,
raifing the eyes towards heaven, and giv-e
fng fuch a fpring to the body as to make
it attempt to mount up as if it could fly :
when joy is extreme, and goes into trans-
port, rapture, and extacy, it has a wildnefs
of look and gefture, that borders on folly,
madnefs, and forrow.
. -w : yoy expelled.
Ah Juliet^ if the meafure of thy joy
Be heap*d like mine, and that thy ikill be more
To blazon it, then fweeten with thy breath
This neighbour air, and let rich mufic*s tongue.
Unfold the imagined happinefs that both.
Receive in either by this dear encounter.
Shakfpeare's Rom. and Jul,
Joy^ approaching to tranfport.
Oh joy, thou welcome ftranger, twice three
years
I have not felt thy vital beam, but now
\t warms my veins and plays about my heart;
A fiery
36d S. LEMDN T S OF
A fiery inftindi lifts me from the ground
^nd I toald mount.— -jDr. Toung's Revenge,
' ' '^ y^ approdthing to folly*
Corne let us to the caftle,
News friends ; our wars are dojie, the Turks
- are drown*d>
How do our old acquaintance of this ifle ? — *
Honey you ihall be well defir'd in Cyprus
J have found great love atnpng them. O my
fweet,
I prattle out of fafhion, and I dote
In mine own comforts. Shakfpear(i*s Othello*
. joy bordering on f arrow,
. ; O my foul's joy !
If after every tempeft come fuch calms,
May^ the ; winds blow till they have wakened
death!
And let the labouring bark climb hills of feas
Olympus high, and duck again as low
As heir^ from heav*n ! If it were now to die.
'Twere now to be mofl happy, for I fear
My foul hath her content fo abfolute.
That not another comfort like to this
Succeeds in unknowns fate. Ibidem.
Timult
ELOCUTION, 301
T'umult of Joy approachmg to rapture,.
Madam, you have bereft me of all words.
Only my blood fpeaks to you in my veins ;
And there is fuch confufion in my powers.
As, after fome oration fairly fpoke
By a beloved prince, there doth appear
Among the buzzing pleafed multitude,
Wheje every fomething, being blent together.
Turns to a wild of nothing, fave of joy,
Expreftj and not exprefl:.
Joy^ or fatisfaBion inexprejjible,
Imoinda, Oh this feparation.
Has made you dearer if it can be io
Than you were ever to me ; you appear
Like a kind liar to my benighted fleps.
To guide me on my way to happinefs ;
I cannot mifs it now. Governor, friend.
You think me mad : But let me blefs you all
Who any ways have been the inftruments
Of finding her again. Imoinda's found !
And every thing that I would have in her.
I have a thoufand things to afk of her.
And Ihe as many more to Jbiow of me.
But
302
ELEMENTS OP
But you have made me happier, I confefs.
Acknowledge it much happier, than I «
Have words or power to tell you. Captain yoir,
Ev'n you, who mod have wrong'd me, I forgive;
I will not fay you have betrayed me 'now,
ril think you but the minifter of fate
To bring me to my lov'd Imoinda here.
Let the fools
Who follow fortune live upon her fmiles,
All our profperity is plac'd in love.
We have enough of that to make us happy i
This little fpot of earth you ftand upon.
Is more to me than the extended plains
Of my great father's kingdom ; here I reign
In full delight in joys to pow'r unknown
Your love my empire, and your heart my throne.
Southern*s Oroonoko,
DELIGHT.
Delight is a high degree of fatisfadion,
or rather is joy moderated and affording
leifure to dwell on the pleafing objed: ;
the tones,, looks, and gellures are the
fame as thofe of joy, but lefs forcible and
more permanent. Thus we gaze upon a
pleafing
ELOCUTION. 303
pleafing figure or pidure, liften to mufic,
and are intent upon delightful fludies.
Delight on viewing a fiatue.
"Leon, — ^ — See, my lord.
Would you not deem it breath'd and that thofe
veins
Did verily bear blood ?
Vaul. My lord's almoft fo far tranfported that
He'll think anon it lives.
Leon. O fvveet Paulina,
Make me to think fo twenty years together
No fettled fenfes of the world can match
The pleafure of that madnefs.
Shahfp. Winter Tak.
Love Is not ill defined by Aaron Hill,
when he calls it, de,^re kept temperate by
reverence : it is, he fays, a confcious and
triumphant fwell of hope, intimidated by
refpedful apprehenfion of offending,where
we long to feem agreeable : it is complaint
made amiable by gracefulnefs ; reproach
endeared by tendernefs j and rapture awed
\>Y reverence : the idea then, fays he, to be
con-
^04 ELEMENTS OF
conceived by one who would exprefs love
elegantly, is that of joy combined with
fear.
To this we may add Shakfpeare's defcrip-
tion of this paflion in As Tou Like It.
Thoehe. Good fhepherd, tell this youth what
'tis to love.
SyL It is to be all made of phantafy ;
All made of paflion^ and all made of wifhes ;
All adoration, duty, and obfervance ;
All humblenefs, all patience, and impatience ;
All purity, all trial, all obfervance.
As 2ou Like It.
If thefe are juft defer iptlons of love,
how unlike to it is that paffion which fo
profanely afTumes its name !
Love gives a fofc ferenity to the coim-
tenance, a languifhlng to the eyes, a
fweetnefs to the voice, and a tendernefs
to the whole frame ; when intreating, it
clafps the hands, with intermingled fin-
gers to the breall ; when declaring, the
right
£ L O C U T I O 1^. 355
it is attended by trembling hefitation and
confufion.
Love defcribed^
Come hither, boy ; if ever thou fhalt love>
In the fweet pangs of it remember me.
For fuch as I am, all true lovers are ;
Unilaid and Ikittifli in all motions elfe.
Save in the conftarit image of the creature
That is belov'd.-^How doft thou like this tune ?
Skakfpeares Tzv, Night.
"Defcription of languijlnng love,
O fellow, come, the fong we had laft night;—
Mark it, Cefario; it is old and plain ;
The fpinfters, and the knitters in the fun.
And the free maids that weave their thread
with bones.
Do ufe to chaunt it ; it is filly footh.
And dallies with the innocence of love
Like to old age. Tzvelfth Night,
If mufic be the food of love, play on.
Give me excefs of it; that, furfeiting.
The appetite may ficken, and fo die. —
That drain again ; — it had a dying fall ;
Vol. II. X O, it
3o6 ELEMENTS OF
O, it came o'er my ear, like the fweet fouth,
That breathes upon a bank of violets.
Stealing, and giving odour. — Enough, no more,
Tis not fo fweet now, as it was before.
O fpirit of love, how quick and frefli art thou !
That, notwithflanding thy capacity
Receiveth as the fea, nought enters there.
Of what validity and pitch foever.
But falls into abatement and low price.
Even in a minute '. fo full of fhapes is fanc}'",
That.it alone is high fantaflical. Ibid,
Delight in love.
What you do.
Still betters what is done. When you fpeak,
fweet,
Td have you do it ever : when you fing,
I'd have you buy and fell fo ; fo give aims.
Pray fo ; and, for the ordering your affairs, ♦
To fing them too : When you do dance, I
wifli you
A wave o'the fea, that you might ever do
Nothing but that ; move Hill, ftill fo,
And own no other fundion : Each your doing.
So fingular in each particular.
Crowns
E L O CUT I O n. 307
Crowns what you are doing.in the prefent ddeds.
That all your adts are queens.
Shakfpeares Wintet's Tak,
Frotejlation in love,
■ . Q, hear me breathe my life
Before this ancient fir, who, it fliould feem.
Hath fome time iov'd : I take thy hand ; this
hand.
As foft as dove''s down, and as white as it;
Or Ethiopian's tooth, or the fann*d fnow.
That's bolted by the northern blafts twice o*er.
Ibid,
Love complaining.
Ay, Protheus, but that life is alter'd now ;
I have done penance for contemning love,
Whofe high imperious thoughts havepuniih*d
me.
With bitter fafts, with penitential groans.
With nightly tears, and daily heart-fore fighs.
For in revenge of my contempt of love,
Love hath chac'd fleep from my enthralled eyes.
And made them watchers of mine own heart's
forrow.
O gentle Protheus, love's a mighty lord.
And hath fo humbled me, as I confefs
X 2 There
3o8 ELEMENTSOF
There is no woe to his corredtion ;
Nor to his fervice, any joy on earth.
Now no difcourfe except it be of love ;
Now can I break my faft, dine, fup, and flcep.
Upon the very fimple name of love.
Shakfpeare's Two Gent, of Verona,
PITY.
Pity is benevolence to the afflided. It
is a mixture of love for an objed that fuf-
fers, and a grief that we are not able to
remove thofe fufFerings. It fhows itfelf
in a compaflionate tendernefs of voice ;
a feeling of pain in the countenance, and
a gentle raifmg and falling of the hands
and eyes, as if mourning over the un-
happy objed. The mouth is open, the
eye-brows are drawn down, and the fea-
tures contracted or drawn together.
Fity in plaintive 7iarration,
As in a theatre the eyes of men,
After a vvcU-grac'd adtor leaves the ftage.
Arc idly bent on him that enters next.
Thinking his prattle to be tedious,
Evem
ELOCUTION. 30$
Even fo, or with much more contempt, men's
eyes.
Did fcowl on Richard ; no man cry'd God fave
him ;
No joyful tongue gave him his welcome home ;
But duft was thrown upon his facred head;
Which with fuch gentle forrow he Ihook off—
His face ftill combating with tears and fmiles.
The badges of his grief and patience,—
That had not God, for fome ftrong purpofe,
fteel'd
The hearts of men, they muft perforce have
melted.
And barbarifm itfelf have pitied him.'
But heav*n hath a hand in thofe events ;
To whofe high will we bound our calm con-
tents. Shakf. Rich, II.
Pity for falling greafnefs»
Ah, Richard ! with eyes of heavy mind,
I fee thy glory like a ihooting ftar.
Fall to the bafe earth, from the firmament !
Thy fun fits weeping in the lowly weft,
Witneffing ftorms to come, woe, and unreft ;
Thy friends are fled, to wait upon thy foes.
And crofsly to thy good all fortune goes. Ibid,
X 3 Fity
3IO ELEMENTS OF
■ -i ! ' Pity for a departed friend,
.Alas ! poor Yorick ! I knew him, Horatio ;
a fellow of infinite jeft, of moft excellent
fancy : he hath borne me on his back a thou-
fand times; and now how abhorred in my ima-
gination it is 5 my gorge rifes at It. Here
hung thofe lips that I have kifled I know nor
how oft. Where be your gibes now ? Youf
gambols? Your fongs ? Your flafhes of mer-
riment, that were wont to fet the table on t
roar ? Not one now to mock your own grin-
ning ? Quire chop-fallen ? Now get you to my
lady*s chamber, and tell her, let her paint an
inch thick, to this favour Ihe muftcomc ; make
her laugh at that. — Shakf, Hamlet, ■
Pity for the ohjeB beloved.
Poor lord ! is't I
That chafe thee from thy country, and expofe
Thofe tender limbs of thine to the event
Of the none fparing war ? and is it I
That drive thee from the fportive court, where
thou
Waft ihot at with fair eyes, to be the mark
Of fmoky muikets ? O you leaden meflengers.
That
ELOCUTION. 311
That ride upon the violent fpeed of fire,
Fly with falfe aim ; move the flill-piercing air.
That lings with piercing, do not touch my lord !
Whoever fhoots-at him, I fet him there;
Whoever charges on his forward' breaft,
I am the caitiff, that do hold him to it ;
And, though I kill him not, I am the caufc
His death was fo effefted : better 'twere
I met the- ravin lion when he roar'd
With fharp conftraint of hunger ; better 'twere
That all the miferies which nature owes,
Wer« mine at once : No, come thou home,
Roufillon,
Whence honour but of danger wins a fear ;
As oft it lofes all ; I will be gone :
My being here it is, that holds thee hence ;
Shall I ftay here to do't ? no, no, although
The air of paradife did fan the houfe.
And angels offic'd all : I will be gone.
Shakfpeare's All Well, ^c.
Pity for youth over -watched,
hue. I have flept, my lord, already.
Bru. It was well done; and thou fhalt fleep
again;
\ will not hold thee long : if I do live,
X 4 I will
312 ELEMENTS OF
I will be good to thee. [Mu^c, and afongf
This is a fleepy tune ; O murd'rous flumber !
I.ay'ft thou thy leaden mace upon my boy.
That plays thee mufic ? — Gentle knave, good
night ;
I will not do thee fo much wrong tb wake thee.
If thou doft nod, thou break'ft thy inftrument;
I'll take it from thee ; and, good boy, good
night. Shakfpeares JuU Caf,
HOPE.
Hope is a mixture of defire and joy,
agitating the mind, and anticipating its
enjoyment. It brightens the countenance,
fpreads the arms with the hands open as
to receive the object of its wifhes : the
voice is plaintive, and inclining to eager-*
nefs ; the breath drawn inwards more for-
cibly than ufual, in order to exprefs our
defires the more flrongly, and our earnefl
expectation of receiving the object of
them.
Hope from approaching nuptials.
Now fair Hippolita our nuptial hour
Draws on apace, four happy days brings in
An-
ELOCUTION. 313
Another moon ; but oh ! methinks, how flow
This old moon wains ! Ihe lingers my defires.
Like to a ftep-dame, or a dowager
J^ong-witkering out a young man*s revenue*
Shakfpeares Midfum, Ni^ht,
Hope of good tidings,
O Hope, fweet flatterer, whofe deluflve touch
Sheds on afflidted minds the balm of comfort
Relieves the load of poverty ; fuftains
The captive bending with the weight of bonds.
And fmooths the pillow of difeafe and pain ;
Send back th' exploring meflenger with joy.
And let me hail thee from that friendly grove.
Glovers Boadicea,
HATRED, AVERSION,
When by frequent reflexion on a dlf-
agreeable objed our difapprobation of it
is attended with a difmclination of mind
towards it, it is called hatred. When our
hatred and difapprobation of any objedl
are accompanied with a painful fenfation
ppon the apprehenfion of its prefence or
Z ap-
2yl4 EL E M p N!T & OF
approach, there follows an inclination to
avoid it called averfion.
Hatred or averfion draws back the body-
as 'to avoid the hated objed: ; the hands
at" the fame time thrown out fpread, as if
to keep it off. The face is turned away
from that fide towards which the hands
are thrown out ; the eyes looking angrily,
and obliquely the fame way the hands are
directed ; the . eye-brows are contraded,
the upper lip difdainfully drawn up, and
the teeth fet ; the pitch of the voice is
low, but loud and harfh, the tone chiding,
unequal, furly, and vehement, the fentences
are fliort and abrupt.
A defcription and example of this paf-
fion from Shakfpeare is given in the in-
troduction to thefe examples, p. 283, to
thefe we fhall add a few others :
K. Rich. So, madam, what you ftill take ,
care, I fee,
To let the world believe I love you not.
This
ELOCUTION. 315
This outward mourning now h^s malice in't^
So have thefe fuUen difobedient- tears.
I'll have you tell the world I dote on you.
Ame. I wifli I could, but 'twill not be bc-
liev'd :
Have I deferv'd this ufage ?
Rich. You have ; you do not pleafe mc as at
firft.
ylnne. What have I done ! what horrid crimt
committed?
Kicb. To me the worfl of crimes, out-liv'd
my liking.
^nne. If that be criminal, juft heav'n be kind.
And take me while my penitence is warm :
O iir, forgive and kill me.
Rich. Umh ! — no, the meddling world will
call it murder.
And I would have them think me pitiful.
Now wert thou not afraid of felf-deftrudtion,
Thou haft a fair excufe for't.
Jnne. How fain would I be friends with
death ! — O name it !
Rich. Thy hufband's hate. — Nor do I hate
thee only
From the dull'd edge of fated appetite,
put from ttic eager love I bear another ;
Some
3i6 ELEMENTS OF
Some call me hypocrite — What think'ft thou
now ?
Do I diflemble ?
Anne. Thy vows of love to me were all dif-
fembled.
Rich, Not one — for when I told thee fo, I
lov'd ;
Thou art the only foul I ne'er deceived.
And 'tis my honefty that tells thee now.
With all my heart I hate thee.
Richard III. altered by Cihber,
Hatred curfing the objedi hated.
Poifon be their drink.
Gall, worfe than gall, the daintiefl meat they
tafte ;
Their fweetefl: fhade a grove of cyprefs trees.
Their fweetefl profped murd'ring bafilifks.
Their fofteft touch as fmart as lizard's flings.
Their mufic frightful as the ferpent's hifs.
And boading fcreech-owls make the concert
full ;
AU the foul terrors of dark-feated hell. —
Sbakfpear's Hen. FL
"Thh
ELOCUTION. 317
^hisfeems imitated by Dr. Toung,
Why get thee gone, horror and night go with
thee.
Sifters of Acheron go hand in hand.
Go dance about the bow'r and clofe them in ;
And tell them that I fent you to falute them.
Prophane the ground, and for th'ambrofial rofc.
And breath of jeflamin, let hemlock blacken.
And deadly night-fliade poifon all the air :
For the fweet nightingale may ravens croak.
Toads pant, and adders ruftle through the
leaves :
May ferpents, winding up the trees, let fall
Their hifling necks upon them from above.
And mingle kiffes — fuch as I would give them.
Tmn^s Revenge,
Hatred of a rival in glory,
i^t is my bane, I cannot bear him ;
One heaven and earth can never hold us both ;
^till fhall we hate, and with defiance deadly
Keep rage alive till one be loft for ever.
As if two funs ftiould meet in one meridian
And ftrive in fiery combat for the paffagc.
Rowe's Tamerlmi*
ANGER,
^ig ELEMENTS OF
. ANGER, RAGE, FURY.
When hatred and difpleafure rife high oa
a fudden from an apprehenfion of injury
received, and perturbation of mind in con-
fequence of it, it is called anger ; and rif^
ing to a very high degree and extinguifh-
iQg humanity, becomes rage and fury.
Anger, when violent, exprelFes itfelf
with rapidity, noifbj^'harfhnefg, and fome-
times with interruptioh'and hefitation, as
if unable to utter itfelf with fufficient
force. It wrinkles the brows, enlarged
and !br?aves the noftrils, ftrains the muf-
cles, clinches the fift, ftamps with the foot,
and ^'Aves a violent agitation to the whole
body. The voice affumes the high eft toi^e
it cc adopt confiftently with force and
loudnefs, though fometimes to exprefs
angCi with uncommon energy, the voice
aflun :s a low and forcible tone.
ELOCUTION. 31^
Narrative in Anger,
My liege, I did deny no prifoners.
But I remember when the fight was done.
When I was dry with rage, and extreme ^oil,
Breathlcfs and faint, leaning upon my fword.
Came there a certain lord, neat, trimly
drefs'd,
Frelh as a bridegroom; and his chin, ivew
reaped, —
ShowM like a ftubble-land at harveft-home ;.
He was perfumed like a milliner; ; ,
And 'cwixt.his finger and his thumb he held >
A pouncet-box, which ever and anon, , '
He gave his nofe, and took't away again ;
Who, therewith angry when it next car,,, there.
Took it in fnuff— and flill he fmil'd and talk'd.
And as the foldiers bore dead bodies b ;,
He caird them— untaught knaves unma^jnerly.
To bring a flovenly unhandfome.corfe
Betwixt the wind and his nobility. ,^:
With many holiday and lady terms.
He queftion'd me, among the reft dem tided
My prifoners, in. yqur majefty's behal^j^
I tlien all fmarting with my wounds be'*- ' cold
To be fo peftered with a popinjay.
Out
^20 ELEMENTS OF
Out of my grief and my impatience
Anfwer'd negledtingly, I know no what.
He Ihould, or he fhould not ; — for he made md
mad.
To fee him Ihine fo brifk, and fmell fo fweet.
And talk fo like a waiting gentlewoman.
Of guns, and drums, and wounds, (heaven
fave the mark !)
And telling me the fovereign'ft thing on earthy
Was parmacity for an inward bruife ;
And that it was great pity, fo it was.
That villainous falt-petre ihould be digg'd
Out of the bowels of the harmlefs earth.
Which many a good tall fellow had deftroy'S
So cowardly ; and but for thefe vile guns,
He would himfelf have been a foldier.
This bald, unjointed chat of his, my lord^
I anfwer'd indiredly as I faid.
And I befeech you, let not his report.
Come current for an accufation.
Betwixt my love and your high majefty.
Shakfpeare's Hen, IF. Fhft Tart.
Scorn and anger y reproving^
Tut, tut !
Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle,
I am
ELOCUTION. 32 £
1 am no traitor's uncle ; and that word — grace
In an ungracious mouth is but profane j
Why have thofe banifhed and forbidden legs
Dax'd once to touch a duft of England's ground?
But more than why — Why have they dar'd to
march
So many miles upon her peaceful bofom ;
Frighting her pale-fac'd villages with war.
And oftentation of defpifed arms ?
Com'fl: thou becaufe the anointed king is hence ?
Why foolifh boy, the king is left behind.
And in my loyal bofom lies his power.
Were I but now the lord of fuch hot youth
As when brave Gaunt, thy father, and myfelf
Refcu'd the Black Prince, that young Mars of
men,
From forth the ranks of many thoufand French ;
Oh, then, how quickly Ihould this arm of mine.
Now prifoner to the palfy, chaflife thee.
And minifter corredtion to thy fault !
Ibid, Rick IL
Determined revenge*
I know not : if they fpeak but truth of her,
Thefe hands ihall tear her; if they wrong her
honour.
Vol. II. Y The
322 ELEMENTS OF
The proudefl; of them ihall well hear of it.
Time hath not yet fo dry*d this blood of mine,
Nor age fo eat up my invention.
Nor fortune made fuch havoc of my means.
Nor my bad life *rcft m.e fo much of friends.
But they Ihall find awak'd in fuch a kind,
Both flrength of limb and policy of mind.
Ability in means, and choice of friends
To quit me of them throughly.
Ibid. Much Ado,
Eager Revenge,
Oh, I could play the woman with mine eye?.
And braggart with my tongue! — But, gentle
heaven,
Cut Ihort all intermiffion ; front to front.
Bring thou this fiend of Scotland, and myfelf ;
Within my fword's length fet him ; if he Ycape,
Heaven forgive him too i
Vnrejlramedfury,
Alive ! in triumph ! and Mercutio llain !
Away to heaven refpedtive lenity^
And fire-ey*d fury be my conduct now ! —
M«w Tybalt take the villain back again
That
E L O ♦€ U T r O N, ^2t
That late thou gav'ft me ; for Mercutio's Ibui
Is but a little way above our heads
Staying for thine to keep him company.
And thou or I, or both Ihall follow him.
Ibid. Rom. and Juliet,
REVENGE.
Revenge is a propenfity and endeavour
to injure the offender, which is attended
with triumph and exultation when the in-
jury is accompllfhed : it exprefles itfdf
like rtialice, but more openly, loudly, and
triumphantly.
Revenge for having received a blow,
Alon. O Zanga !
Tan. Do not tremble h, but fpeak.
Alon* I dare not.
Z'an. You will drown me with your tearg.
Alon, Have I not caufe ?
Zan. As yet you have no caufe*
Alon, Doft thou too rave ?
Zan. Your anguiih is to come :
You have been much abus'd.
Alon. Abus'd by whom ?
Y 2 2an.
324. ELEMENTS OF
Zan, To know were little comfort.
jibn. Oh, 'twere much !
Zan. Indeed !
Alon. Oh give him to my fury !
Zan. Born for your ufe I live but to oblige you;
Know then 'twas I
Alon. Am I awake ?
Zan. For ever.
Thy wife is guiklefs, that's one tranfport to me.
And I — I let thee know it — that's another,
I urg*d don Carlos to refign his miftrefs,
I forg'd the letter, I difpos'd the pifture,
I hated, I defpis'd, and I deftroy.
Why this is well; why this is blow for blow.
Where are ye ? Crown me, fhadow me with
laurels.
Ye fplrits that delight in juft revenge !
Let Europe, and her pallid fons go weep,
Let Afric, and her hundred thrones rejoice.
0 my dear countrymen, look down and fee
How I beftride your proflrate conqueror !
1 tread on haughty Spain, and all her kings.
Toungs Revenge,
REPROACH.
ELOCUTION. 325
REPROACH.
Reproach is fettled anger or hatred
chaftifing the object of diflike, by cafting
in his teeth the fevereft cenfures upon his
imperfections or mifcondudl : the brow is
contraded, the Up turned up with fcorn,
the head ftiaken, the voice low, as if ab-
horring, and the whole body expreffive of
averfion.
Reproaching with fiupidity and inconjiancy.
Wherefore rejoice ? What conqueft brings
he home ?
What tributaries follow him to Rome,
To grace in captive bonds his chariot wheels ?
You blocks, you ftones, you worfe than fenfe-
lefs things !
O, you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome,
Knew ye not Pompey ? Many a time and oft
Have you climb'd up to walls and battlements.
To towers and windows, yea, to chimney tops.
Your infants in your arms, and there have fat
The live-long day, with patient exped:ation,
Y 3 To
326 ELEMENTS OF
To fee great Pompey pafs the ftreets of Rome :
And when you favv his chariot but appear.
Have you not made an univerfal fliout.
That Tyber trembled underneath his banks,
To hear the replication of your founds.
Made in his concave fhores ?
And do you now put on your bed attire ?
And do you now cull out a holiday ?
And do you now ftrew flowers in his way,
That comes in triumph over Pompcy's blood ?
Be gone ;
l^un to j''our houfes ; fall upon your knees.
Pray to the gods to intermit the plague.
That needs mufl light on this ingratitude.
Shak/peare's Jul Caf.
Reproaching with want of friendjhip.
You have done that you fhould be forry for.
There is no terror, Caffius, in your threats;
For 1 am arm'd fo ftrong in honefty,
That they pafs by me, as the idle wind.
Which I rcfpedt not. I did fend to you
For certain fums of gold, which you deny'dme;
For I can raife no money by vile means ;
No CalTius, I had rather coin my heart.
And
ELOCUTION. 327
And drop my blood for drachmas^ than to
wring
From the hard hands of peafants their vile tralh
By any indire<ftion. I did fend
To you for gold to pay my legions.
Which you fleny'd me : Was that done like;
Caflius ?
Should I have anfwer'd Caius Caffius fo ?
When Marcus Brutus grows fo covetous.
To lock fuch rafcal-counters from his friends.
Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts,
Dafh him to pieces. Ibidem,
Reproaching with want of manlinefs,
O proper fluff!
This is the very painting of your fears ;
This is the air-drawn dagger, which you faid.
Led you to Duncan. Oh, thefe flaws and flarts,
(Impoftors to true fear) would well become
A woman's flory, at a winter's fire,
Authoriz'd by her grandam. Shame itfelf !
Why do you make fuch fuch faces ? When
all's done.
You look but on a flool. Ibid. Macbeth,
Y 4 Reproach"
Jig ELEMENTS or
'Reproaclnng'withwant of courage andfpirit.
Thou Have, thou wretch, thou coward.
Thou little valiant, great in villany !
Thou ever llrong upon the ftropger fide !
Thou fortune's champion, thou dofl never fight
But when her humorous ladyfhip is by
To teach thee fafety ! thou art perjur'd too
And footh'ft up greatnefs. What a fool art
thou,
A ramping fool ; to brag and ftamp, and fwcar.
Upon my party ! Thou cold blooded ilave.
Haft thou not fpoke like thunder on my fide.
Been fworn my foldier ? Bidding me depend
Upon thy flars, thy fortune, and thy ftrength ?
And doft thou now fall over to my foes ?
Thou wear a lion's hide ! doif it for Ihame,
And hang a calf s ficin on thofe recreant limbs.
FEAR AND TERROR.
I Fear is a mixture of averfion and for-
row, difcompofmg and debilitating the
mind upon the approach or anticipation of
evil. Wh^n this is attended with fur-
prize
ELOCUTION. 329
prize and much difcompofure, it grows
into terror and confternation.
Fear violent and fudden, opens wide the
eyes and mouth, fhortens the nofe, gives
the countenance an air of wildnefs, covers
it with deadly palenefs, draws back the
elbows parallel with the fides, lifts up the
open hands with the fingers fpread, to the
height of the breaft, at fome diftance be-
fore it, fo as to fhield it from the dread*
ful object. One foot is drawn back be-
hind the other, fo that the body feems
Ihrinking from the danger, and putting
itfelf in a pofture for flight. The heart
beats violently, the breath is fetched quick
and (hort, and the whole body is thrown
into a general tremor. The voice is weak
and trembling, the fentences are fhort,
and the meaning confufed and incoherent.
Terror before dreadful aSiions defcribed.
Between the ading of a dreadful thing,
Apd the firft motion, all the inserim is
Like
339 ELEMENTS OF
Like a phantafma, or a hideous dream ;
The genius, and the mortal inflruments.
Are then in council, and the ftate of man,
l^ke to a little kingdom, fuflfers then
The nature of an infurre(ftion.
Shakfp, Jul, Caf.
terror of evening and night defcribed»
Light thickens ; and the crow
Makes wing to the rooky wood ; '
Good things of day begin to droop and drowze;
While night's black agtints to their prey do
rouze.
Thou marveirft at my words ; but hold thee
fliU;
Things, bad begun, make flrong themfelves
by ill I
So, pr*ythee, go with me. Ihid. Macbeth,
Narrative of horrid fights,
A common flave (you know him well by
fight)
Held up his left hand, which didflame andburn.
Like twenty torches join'd ; and yet his hand.
Not fenlible of fire, remain'd unfcorch'd.]
' Be-
ELOCUTION. 331
Befides, (I have not lince put up my Avord)
Againft the capitol I met a Jion,
Who glar'd upon me, and went furly by.
Without annoying me : and there were drawn
Upon a heap a hundred ghaltly women,
Transformed with their fear ; who fwore, they
faw
Men, ell in fire, walk up and down the ftreets.
And, yefterday, the bird of night did fit.
Even at noon-vlay, upon the market-place.
Hooting and fiirieking. When thefe prodigies
Po fo conjointly meet, let not men fay
Thefe are the reafons, — they are natural ;
l^'or, I believe, they are portentous things
Unto the- climate that they point upon.
Ibid, Jul. Caf.
Fear from a dreadful objeB*
Angels and minifters of grace defend us
Be thou a fpirit of health or goblin damn*d.
Bring with thee airs from heav'n, or blalls
from hell.
Be thy intents wicked or charitable.
Thou com'ft in fuch a queftlonable ihape
That I will fpeak to thee.
Save
332 E LEMEN T S OF
Save me, and hover o*er me with your wings.
You heavenly guards I — what would your gra-
cious figure ? Shakfp. Hamlet,
Horror at a dreadful apparition.
How ill this taper burns ! ha ! who comes
here ?
I think it is the weaknefs of my eyes.
That fhapes this monftrous apparition .
It comes upon me — Art thou any thing ?
Art thou fome god, fome angel, or fome devil.
That mak'ft my blood cold, and my hair to ftare.
Speak to me what thou art. Shakfp. Jul, C^f,
'Terror from committing murder^
fi/Iac. I've done the deed — didft not thou hear
a noife ?
Lady. I heard the owl fcream,and the crickets
cry.
Did you not fpeak ?
Mac. When ?
Lady. Now.
Mac. As I defcended ?
Lady. Ay.
Mac. Hark ! — ^who lies i'Jk'fecond chamber]?
Lady. Donalbain.
Mac,
ELOCUTION. 333
Mac. This is a forry fight.
Lady. A foolifti thought to fay a forry fight.
Mac. There's one did laugh in his fleep,
and one cry'd, murder !
That they did wake each other ; I flood and
heard them :
But they did fay their pray'rs, and addreffed
them ,
Again to lleep.
Fear of being difcovered in murder,
Alas, I am afraid they have awakM,
And *tis not done ; th' attempt and not the deed
Confounds us Hark ! — I laid the daggers
ready.
He could not mifs them. Had he not refem-
bled
My father as he flept, I had done it. Ibidem*
SORROW.
Sorrow is a painful depreffion of fpirit,
upon the deprivation of good or arrival of
evil ; when it is filent and thoughtful, it
is fadnefs ; when Jong indulged, io as to
prey upon and poflefs the miad, it be-
' comes
34;} ELEMENTS OF
comes habitual and groWi into melan-
clioly ; when tofled by hopes and fears,
it is diftradion ; when thefe are fwallow-
ed up by it, it fettles into defpair.
In moderate forrow, the countenance is
dejedled, the eyes are caft downward, the
arms hang loofe, fometimes a Httle raifed,
fuddenly to fall again ; the hands open^
the fingers fpread, and the voice plaintive,
frequently interrupted with fighs. But
when this paffion is in excefs, it diftorts
the countenance, as if in agonies of pain ;
it raifes the voice to the loudeft complain-
ings, and fometimes even to cries and
flirieks ; it wrings the hands, beats the
head and breaft, tears the hair, and throws
itfclf on the ground ; and, like other paf-
fions, in excefs, feems to border on
phrenzy.
Sadvefs*
Anth. In footh, I know not why I am fo fad.
It" wearies me ; you fay it wearies you ;
But
ELOCUTION. 335
But hovv I caught it, found it, or came by it.
What fluff 'tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn.
And fuch a want-wit fadnefs makes of me.
That I have much ado to know myfelf.
Gra. You look not well, fignor Anthonio,
You have too much refpeft upon the world :
They lofe it that do buy it with much care.
Believe me, you are marvelloufly chang*d.
Anth. I hold the world, but as the world,
Gratiano ;
A ftage, where every one mud play his part.
And mine's a fad one.
Deep melancholy dejcribed.
She never told her love.
But let concealment, like a worm i'th'bud
Feed on herdamafk cheek. Shepin'd in thought,
And with a green and yellow melancholy.
She fat like Patience on a monumeiit
Smiling at grief,
Penjive foreboding*
My mother had a maid call'd Barbara,
She was in love ; and he fhe lov'd prpv'd mad
And
336 ELEMENTS OF
And did forfake her : Ihe had a fong of willdw^
An old thing 'twas, but it exprefs'd her fortune.
And fhe dy'd {inging it : That fong to-night
Will not go from my mind, I have much to do
But to go hang my head all o' one fide.
And fing it like poor Barbara. Shakefp* 0th*
Silent grief.
Seems, madam ! nay it is : I know not feems
*Tis not alone my inky cloak good mother.
Nor cuftomary fuits of folemn black,
Nor windy fufpiration of fcrc'd breathy
No nor the fruitful river in the eye.
Nor the dejed:ed 'haviour of the vifage
Together with all forms, modes, fliows of grief
That can denote me truly : Thefe indeed feem.
For they are adtions that a man might play ;
But I have that within which paffeth fhow,
Thefe but the trappings and the fuits of woff.
Ibid. Ilamlet.
Inward forrow.
Say that again^
The ilwdow of my forrow ! Ha! let's fee :— .
'Tis very true, my grief lies all within ;
And thefe external manners of lament.
Arc
E L O C U i } t) N. 3U
Are merely fii'adows to the unfeen grief,
That fwells with filence in my tortuf'd foul ;
Xfiere lies the fubilance : and I thanic thee^
For thy ^reat Bounty, that not only giv'ft
Me caufe to wail, but teacheft me the way
How to lament the caufe. I'll beg one boon,
And then be gone, and trouble you no more.
Shall I obtain it ? Shake/p. Rich. IL
Sorrow forgetful of its intentions.
Yet one word more \ — Grief boundeth where
It falls,
^Jot with the empty hollownefs, but weight;
I take my leave before I have begun ;
For forrow ends not, v/hen it feemeth done.
Commend me to my brother Edmund York,
Lo this is all :— nay, yet depart not fo;
Though this be all, do not fo quickly go,
I ftiall remember more. Bid hind— Oh, what \
With all good fpeed at Plalhy vifit me.
Alack, and what fhall good old York there fee.
But empty lodgings, and unfurnifh*d walls.
Unpeopled offices, untrodden ftones ? "
And what hear there for welcome but my groans ?
Vol. II, Z There-
538^ ELEMENTS OF
Therefore commend me ; let him not come
there,
To feek out forrow, that dwells every where ;
Befolate, defolate, will I hence, and die ;
The lafl leave of thee takes my weeping eye.
Ibid.
Grief deploring lofs of ambition*
I had been happy if the general camp.
Pioneers and all^ hadvvrong*d my love.
So I had nothing known : O now for ever.
Farewell the plumed troop and the big wars
That make ambition virtue ! O farewel,
Farcwel the neighing fteed, and the Ihrill trump.
The fpirit-ftirring drum, the ear-piercing fife.
The royal banner, and all quahty.
Pride, pomp, and circumftance of glorious war ?
Farewel ! Othello's occupation's gone.
Shakfpeare's Othelh.
' Grief afprdaching to madnefs*
Tand. Lady, you utter madnefs, and not for-
row,
Conji* Thou art unholy to belie me fo ;
1 am not mad : this hair I tear is mine ;
My name is Conftanee ; I was Geffrey's wifei
Young
th O G U T J ON, 335>
Young Arthur is my fon, and he is loft :
I am not mad; ;r— I would to^h^aven^I were !
Foi; then, 'tis like, . I (hould -forget myfdfs-'
Oh, if I could, what grief fliould I forget !
Preach iprae; p^iilofophy to make mq^jii^.d^,-//,''
And cardioai thou iQjalt be canomz-d'^in^K [; '.
For, being not 'mad, but: fen fihle of grief,
My reafonable part produces reafon
How I may be delivered of thefe woes.
And teaches me to kill or hang myfelf :
If I were mad, I fhould forget my fon,
Ot madly think a babe of clouts were he ;
I am not mad, too well, too well I feel
The different plague of each calamity.
Shakfpeare's King John,
Grief mixed with plty^ ajjiimlng a fmlle^
and approaching to phrenzy.
Grief fills the room up of my abfent child.
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with mej
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words.
Remembers me of all his gracious parts.
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form.
Then have I reafon to be fond of grief. lbid„
Z % Grief
^4a e'lAMENTS of
Grief approaching to djftraBion.
Thoti cartfi not fpeak of what thou dof! not
feel;
Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love.
An hour but married, Tybalt murdcr'd,
Doatihg like me, and like me banilhed.
Then might'ft thou fpeak, then might'ft thott
tear thy hair,
And fall upon the ground as I do now.
Taking the meafure of an unmade grave.
, _.\ _ Shakfp, Rom* and Juliets ,
"-brief chodking exprejjion,
Macd. My children too !—
Roje, Wife, children, fervants, all that could
be found !
Macd» And I muft be from thence ! my wife
kiird too ?
■Rojft. I've faid.
. MaL Be comforted.
Let's make us med'cines of our great revenge.
To cure this deadly grief.
Macd. He has no children !
What all my pretty ones ? Did you fay, all ?
What all i
Mil.
ELOCUTION, 341
MjL Endure it like a man.
Macd. I Ihall. , y<\"
But I muft alfo feel it as a man/
I cannot but remember fuch things were.
That were moft precious to me : did heav'n
look on,
And would not take their part ? iinful Macduff,
They were all ft ruck for thee ! naught that I am!
Not for their own demerits, but for mine
Fell llaughter on their fouls : heaven reft them
- now ! Ibid, Macbeth
REMORSE.
Remorfe, or a painful remembrance of
criminal actions or purfuits, cafts down
the countenance, and clouds it with an-
xiety, hangs down the head, fhakes it with
regret, juft raifes the eyes as if to look
up, and fuddenly cafts them down again,
with fighs ; the right-hand fometimes
beats the breaft, and the whole body
writhes as with felf-averfion. The voice
has a harfhnefs as in hatred, and inclines
to a low and reproachful tone,
Z 3 Kan
342 E L£ M fe NT S O F
Keen remorfefor drunkennefs,
I remember a mafs of things, but nothing
diftindtly;' a quarrel, nothing wherefore. O
that men fhould put an enemy in their mouths,
to fteal away their brains ! that we fhould with
joy, pleafure, revel, and applaufe, transform
ourfelves into beafts ! I will afk him for my
place again ; he Ihall tell me I am a drunkard :
had I as many mouths as Hydra, fuch an an-
fwer would ftop them all. To be now a fen-
lible man ; by and by a fool, and prefently a
beaft ! O (Irange ! every inordinate cup is un-
bleffed, and the ingredient is a devil.
■ Shakfpeare's Othello.
Kemorfe for treachery and ingratitude^
I am alone the villain of the earth.
And feel I am fo moft. O Anthony,
Thou mine of bounty, how wouldil: thou have
paid
My better fervice, when my turpitude
Thou doft fo crown with gold ! This blows my
heart ;
If fv/ift thought break it not, a fwifter mean
Shall out-ftrike thought ; but thought wiil do't
I feel—
ELOCUTION. 341
I fight againft thee ! — No : I will go feek
Some ditch wherein to die ; the fouleft bell
Befits my latter part of life.
Shakfpeare*s Ant, and Ciea, "
Reproach and remorfefor murder of an in"
nocent child*
Oh, when the laft account 'twixt lieaveo
and earth
Is to be made, then Ihall this hand and feal
Witnefs againft us to damnation !
How oft the fight of means to do ill deeds.
Makes deeds ill done ? Hadft not thou been by,
A fellow by the hand of nature mark'd.
Quoted and fign'd, to do a deed of Ihame,
This murder had not come into my mind.
But taking note of thy abhorr*d afpedt.
Finding thee fit for bloody villainy
Apt, liable to be employ*d in danger,
I faintly broke with thee of Arthur's deaths
And thou to be endeared to a king,
Mad'ft it no confcien.ee to deftroy a prince.
Ibid. King John,
Z it DESPAIR.
^44. ELEMENTS QE
D E S P A I R.
, ,'^ ^ ^ - - . .-t^ -
Defpair, as in ^ co^d^mij^^ crlmioal,
or one who has loft all hope of falvation,
bends the eye-brows downwards, clouds
the forehead, rolls the eyes frightfully,
opens the moiith horizontally, bites the
lips, widens thenoftrils, and gnaflies the
teeth.. The arms are fometimes bent at
the elbows, the Ms clinqhed hard, the
veins and mufcles fwelled ; the ikin livid,
the whole body ftrained and violently agi-
tated ; while groans of inward torture
are more frequently uttered than words.
If any words,. they are few, an(d exprefled
with a fuUen ea^er, biUerncfs, the tone of
the voice oftei;! lo\;d and furious, and fome-
times in the fame note for a confiderable
time. This ftate of human nature is too
frightful to dwell upon, and almoft im-
proper for imitation ; for if death cannot
be counterfeited without too much (hock-
ing
ELOCUTION. 345
ing our humanity ; defpair, which exhi-
bits a ftate ten thoufand times more terri-
rible than death, ought to be viewed with
a kind of reverence to the great Author of
nature, who feems fometimes to exhibit
Xo us this agony of mind as a warning to
avoid that wickednefs which produces it.
Shakfpeare has moft exquifitely touched
this fearful fituation of human nature,
where he draws cardinal Beaufort, after 2|
wicked life, dying in defpair, and terrified
with the murder of duke Humphrey, to
which he was acc'eflary.
K. Hen. How fares my lord ? fpeak Beau-
fort to thy fovereign.
Car, If thou be'll Death, Til give thee Eng-
land's treafure.
Enough to purchafe fuch another ifland.
So thou wilt let me live and feel no pain.
K. Hen. Ah, what a fign it is of evil life.
When death's approach is feen fo terrible !
J^J/iu: Beaufort it is thy fovereign fpeaks to
thee.
Car-
146 ELEMENTS OF
G?r. Bring me to my trial when you will,
Dy*d lie not in his bed ? where fhould he die ?
Can I make men live, whether they will or
no? —
Oh torture me no more, I will confefs. —
Alive again ? then ffiow me where he is,
ril give a thottfand pound to look upon him.—
He hath Ho eyes, the duft hath blinded them.—
Comb down his hair ; look ! look ! it (lands
upright.
Like lime-twigs fet to catch my winged foul !
Give mefome drink, and bid the apothecar)''.
Bring the flrong poilbn that I bought of him.
X. Hen, O thou eternal Mover of the heavens.
Look with a gentle eye upon this wretch ;
O beat away the bufy meddling fiend.
That lays ftrong ikge unto this wretch's foul.
And from his bofom purge this black defpair !
ff^ar. See how the pangs of d<;ath do make
him grin.
SaL Difturb him not, let him pafs peaceably.
- K' Hen. Peace to his foul, if God*s good
pleafure be !
Lord Cardinal, if thou think'ft on heaven's
blifs,
Hold up thy hand, make fignal of thy hope,—
He
ELOCUTION. 347
He dies and makes no lign : O God forgive
him. Shakfpeare*s xdTart, Hen, VL
The bare fituation of the charadlers,
the paufe, and the few plain words of
king Henry, he dies and makes nofign I
have more of the real fublime in them
than volumes of the laboured fpeeches in
moft of our modern tragedies, which in
the emphatical language of Shakfpeare
may be faid to be " full of found and fury,
fignifying nothing."
SURPRIZE, WONDER, AMAZEMENT,
ADMIRATION.
An uncommon objed produces wonder;
if it appears fuddenly, it begets furprize ;
furprize continuing, becomes amazement ;
and if the objed: of wonder comes gently
to the mind and arrefls the attention by its
beauty or grandeur, it excites admiration,
which is a mixture of approbation and
wonder ; fo true is that obfervation of Dr.
Young in the tragedy of the Revenge :
Late
348 ELEMENTS OF
. Late times fhall wonder, that my joys fhall
raife
For lyondef is involijntary praife. j ..,, '
Wdnderor amazement, open« the 'eyes,
and makes them appear very prominent.
It fometimes raifes them to the Ikies, but
more frequently fixes them on the objed ;
the mouth is open, and the hands are
Jieid up nearly in the attitude of fear ; the
voice is at firft low, but fo emphatical, that
every word is pronounced flowly and with
energy : when, by the difcovery of fome-
thing excellent in the objedl of wonder,
the emotion may be called admiration, the
eyes are raifed, the hands lifted up, or
clapped together, and the voice elated with
cxpreiFions of rapture.
Surprize at unexpcBed events.
Gone to be marry'd, gone to fvvear a peace !
Y-aMt blood to fdlfe blood join'd ! Gone to be
friends !
Shall
EL6cuT^d^r. 34^
Shiii iLewIs liave Blanch ? and Blanch thofc
' provinces ?
It is not fo : Thou haft mis-fpoke, mls-heard ? -
Be well-advls*d, tell o'er thy tale again :
It cannot be ; thou doft but fay 'tis fo.
What dof^ thou niean by Ihaking of thy head ?
Way doft thou look fo fadly on my fort? ; ^
WTiat 'means tliat hand uponi that breaft of
.thine ?
Why' holds thine eye that lamentable rheumy •
Like a proud river peering o'er his bounds ?
Be thefe fadfighs confirmers of thy words ?
Then fpeak again ; not all thy former tale.
But this one word, whether thy tale be true.
••"' '^ Sbakfpeare*s It, jokn.
ji^iatef^int at grange news.
Old-men, and teldames, in the ftreets.
Do prophefy upon it dangeroufly ;
Young Arthur's death is common in- theif
mouths;
And when they talk of him they fhake their
heads^
And whifper one another in the ear;
And h6, that fpeaks, doth gripe the hearer*s
wrift ;
Whilft
350 ELEMENTS OF
Whilft be, that hears, makes fearful adlior^
"With wrinkled brows, with nods, with rolling
eyes.
I faw a fmlth fland with his hammer, thus.
The whilfl his iron did on the anvil cool.
With open mouth fwallowing a taylor*s news ;
Who, with his ihears and meafure in his hand,
Standing on flippers (which his nimble hafte
Had falfely thruft upon contrary feet)
Told of a many thoufand warlike French,'
That were embattled and rank'd in Kent :
Another lean unwafli'd artificer,
Cuts off his tale, and talks of Arthur's death.
Ibidem^
Emphatic climax of ajionijhment.
Sir Richard, what think you ? Have you
beheld.
Or have you read, or heard ? or could you
think ?
Or do you almoft think, although you fee,
That you do fee ? Could thought without this
objedt
Form fuch another ? This is the very top.
The height, the creil, or creft unto the creft
Of Murder's arms ; this is the bloodied fhame.
The
E L O C U T I 0 N. 351
The wildefl favag'ry, the vilefl ftroke.
That ever wall-ey'd Wrath, or ftarVing Rage,
'Prefented to the tears of, ifc>ft^€}ii^9jr(e. j#i^
P RID E,
■A r. -.:! ;, r
Wheja ouf efteem of ourfelves, or opi-
nion of our own rank and merit is fo high
asT to leffen the regard due to the rank and
merit of others, it is called pride. When
it fuppofes others below our regard, it is
contempt, fcorn, or difdaln.
Pride aflumes a lofty look, bordering
upon the afpeft and attitude of anger.
The eyes full open, but with; the eye-
brows confiderably drawn down, the
mouth pouting, moftly fliut, and the lips
contrad:ed. The words are uttered with
a flow, ilifF, bombaftic affedation of im-
portance ; the hands fometimes reft on
the hips, with the elbows brought for-
ward in the pofition called a-kimbo ; the
legs at a diilance from each other, . the
Heps large and ftately.
PnWe
352 ELEMENTS OF
Pride ajjerting independence.
Your grace ihall pardon me, I will not back;
I am too high-born to be property'd ;
To be a fecondary at controul.
Or ufeful ferving-man and inflrument.
To any fovereign ftate throughout the world.
Your breath firft kindled the dead coal of wars
Between this chaftis'd kingdom and myfelf.
And brought in matter that Ihould feed this
fire ;
And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out.
With that fame weak wind which enkindled It.
You taught me how to know the face of right.
Acquainted me with intereft to this land.
Yea, thruft this enterprize into my heart;
And come ye now to tell me, John hath made
His peace with Rome ? What is that peace to
riie ?
I, by the honour of my ifta^rriage-bed.
After young Arthur, claim this land for mine i
And, now it is half-conquer'd, muft Fback,
Becaufe that John hath made his peace with
Rome ?
Am I Rome's Have ? What penny hath Rome
borne.
What
ELOCUTION. 353
What men provided, what munition fent.
To underprop this aftion ? Is*t not I,
That undergo this charge ? who elfe but I,
And fuch as to my claim are liable.
Sweat in this bufinefs, and maintain this war?
Have I not heard thefe iflanders Ihout out,
yive le Roy ! as I have bank'd their towns ?
Have I not here the beft cards for the game.
To win this eafy match played for a crown ?
And Ihall I now give o*er the yielded fet?
No, no, my foul, it never fhall be faid.
Shakfp. K. John.
Worcefter, get thee gone, for I do fee
Danger and difobedience in thine eye :
O, lir, your prefence is too bold and peremp-
tory,
And majefty might never yet endure
The moody frontier of a fervant brow.
You have good leave to leave us ; when we need
Your ufc and counfel, we ihall fend for you.
Ibid, Firji Part Hen. IK
CONFIDENCE, COURAGE, BOASTING.
Confidence is hope, elated by fecurity
of fuccefs in obtaining its object ; and
Vol, II. A a cou-
^j^ ELEMENTS OF
courage is the contempt of any unavoijdK
able danger m the execution of what is-
refolved upon : in both the head is eredt,
the breaft projected, the countenance clear
and open, the accents- are ftrong, round,,
and not too rapid ; the voice firm and
even* Boafting exaggerates thefe appear-
ances, by loudnefs, bluftering, and what
is not unaptly called fwagg^ring : the arms
are placed a-kimbo^, the foot ftamped on
the ground, the. head drawn back with
pride, the legs take large ftrides, and the
voice fwells into bombaiL
Confidence in one beloveds
Bafe men that ufe them .to fo bafe effecft ;
But truer ftars did govern Proteus birth.
His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles.
His love fincere, his thoughts immaculate-.
His tears pure melTengers fent from his heart.
His heart as far from fraud, as heav'n from
earth. Sbakfp. Tivo dnt. of Vtr.
■ ^ ■ ' Canfi-
ELOCUTION. 355
Confidence of fuccefs in combat,
Soling. Oh, let no noble eye profane a tear
For me, if I be gor*d with Movvbray*s fpear :
As confident, as is the faulcon's flight
Againft a bird, do I with Mowbray fight. — ■
My loviag lord, I rake my leave of you ;— *,
Of you, my noble coufm, lord Aumerle; —
Not fick, although I have to do with death ;
But lufty, young, and chearly drawing breath.-—
Lo, as at Englifh feafts, fo I regreec
The daintieft laft, to make the end moft fweet.
Oh thou, the earthly author of my blood,
Whofe youthful fpirit in me regenerate.
Doth with a two-fold vigour lift me up.
To reach at victory above my bead, —
Add proof unto mine armour with my prayers;
That it may enter Mowbray's waxen coat.
And furbifb new the name of John of Gaunt,
Even in the lufty *haviour of his fon.
ibid. Rid. II.
Mowh. However heaven, or fortune cad my
lot.
There lives or dies, true to king Richard's
throne,
A a 2 A loyal
35'6 ELEMENTS OT
A loyal, juft, and upright gentleman ;
Never did captive with a freer heart,
Call off his chains of bondage, and embracff
Hrs golden, uncontrourd enfranchifement,.
More than my dancing foul doth celebrate.
This feaft of battle, with mine adverfary.—
Mofl mighty liege, — and my companion peers.
Take from my mouth, the wifh of happy years i
As gentle and as . . . jocund, as to jeft,
Go i t© fight, truth, hatb a q^uiet breaft. 3id.
Firm determtned refdution In battle*
I am fatisfy'd:
C-^far Iks down in Alexandria', wheFC"
I will oppofe his fate. Our force by lami
Hath nobly held ; our fever'd navy too
Have knit again, and fleet, threat'ning mofl:
fea-like.
Where hail thou been my heart ?— Dofl thou
hear lady i
If from the field I fhould return once more.
To kifs thcfe lips, I will appear in blood ;
I and my fword will cara my chronicle ;
There is hope in it yet :
I will be treble-fmcw'd^ hearted, brcath'd.
And
ELOCUTION. 357
j\nd fight malicioully : for when mine hours
Were nice and lucky, men did ranfom lives
Of me for jefts ; but now Til fet my teeth.
And fend to darknefs all that flop me.
Jbid. Ant* and Ckop.
' "Boajling indignant challenge.
Show me what thou*lt do :
Wob't we^p ? woo't fight ? woo't fad? \V0Q^\
■: ' teartliyfelf?
Woo't drink up efil ? eat a crocodile ?
Ill do't — Do'fl thou come here to whine.
To outface me with leaping in her grave ?
Be buried quick with her, and fo will I:
And if thou prate of mountains let them throw
Millions of acres on us ; till our ground
Singing its pate againft the burning zone,
Make Ofla like a wart ! Nay, an thou'lt mouth
I'll rant as well as thou. Shakefp. HamlcL
PERPLEXITY, IRRESOLUTION, ANXIETY.
Thefe emotions colled the body toge-
gether as if for thoughtful confideration ;
the eye-brows are contraded, the head
Ranging on the breaft, the eyes call
A a 3 dowit-
358 ELEMENTS OF
downwards, the moutli (hut, tjne lips
purfed together. Suddenly, tKe whole
body alters its afpe6t as having difqovered
fomething ; then falls into contemplation
as before, the motions .of the hodj are
relllefs and unequal, fometimes moving
quick, and fometimes flow 5 the paufes
in fpeaking are long, the tone of the
voice uneven, the fentences broken and
unfinifhed.
Perplexity Jrom temptation to. evil.
From thee ; even from thy virtue,^^^
What's this ? what's this ? Is this her fault or
mine ? ■ ■-
The tempter, or the tempted, who iins moft?
Not ihc ; nor doth fhe tempt; but it is I,
That lying by the violet ia the fun,
{ Do as the carrion docs, not as the flower.
Corrupt with virtuous fealbn. Can it be,
I That'modedy may mot-e betray our fenfe, . ;
Than woman's lightncfs ? having waLle ground
enough,
Shall wc dclire to rafe the fanftuarv
Ana
E !L O C U T I O K 3^^
And pitch our evils there ; oh, fie, fie, fie !
What doft thou ? or what art thou, Angelo ?
Doft thou defire her foully, for thofe things
That make her good ? O let her brother live;
Thieves for their robbery have authority
When judges (leal therafelves* What! do I
love her.
That I defire to hear her fpeak again.
And feaft upon her eyes ? What is*t I dream on ?
Oh cunning enemy, that to catch a faint
With faints do*ft bait thyhoojc! mod dangerous.
Is that temptation that doth goad us on
To fm in loving virtue ; neW could the ftrumpet
With all her double vigour, art, and nature,
Qnce itir my temper ; but this virtuous maid
Subdues me quite : ev'n till this very now.
When men were fond, I fmil'd, and wonderM
how.; . . ^hahfp. Mdaf. for Meaf,
Perplexity from unexpeBed events.
Heaven for his mercy ! what a tide of woes
Comes rufliing on this woeful land at once !
I know not what to do : — I would to heaven,
(So my untruth hath not provok'd him to it)
Xhe king had cut off my head with my "bro-j
ther's.—
A a 4 What^
360 E L E M E N T:S O F
"What, are there pofls difpatch'd for Ireland?-**
How ITiall we do for money for thefe wars ?—
Come, fifler, — coufin I would fa}' ; pray par-
don me. ''''■^■^'- -
Go, fellow, get thee home, provide fomecar!:?>
And bring away the armour that is there, —
Gentlemen, will you go to mufter men ? if I
know
How, or which way, to order thefe affairs.
Thus diforderly thruft into my hands,
JNever believe me. Both dre my kinfmen : —
The one's my fovcreign, whom both my oath
And duty bids defend ; the other again
Is my kinfman, whom the king has wrong'd ;
*Whom confcience and my kindred bids to righr.
Well, fomewhac we mulido— Come Coufin, I'll
Difpofe of you : — Go mufter up your men.
And meet me prefently at Berkley : Gentlemen,
I Ihould to Plalhy too ; — ■
But time will not permit : — All is uneven.
And every thing is left at fix and feven.
Shakfp.Kich. IT.
Perplexity^ how to aB QU fudden furprize^
Yes; — 'tisiEmilia:— byandby — She's dead.
'Jis like flie comes to fpcak of Caffio's death ;
The
ELOCUTION, 36?
The noife was high. — Ha ! no more moving?
Still as the grave. — Shallfhe come in, wer*tgood ?
J think Ihe flirs again : — No. — what's the beft
Jf Ihe come in Ihe'll fure fpeak to my wife.
Ibid. Othello,
VEXATION.
Vexation, befides expreffing itfelf with
the looks, geftures, tone and reftlefTnefs
of perplexity, adds to thefe, complaint,
fretting, and remorfe.
Vexation at negletiing one*s duty.
Oh what a rogne and peafant Have am II
Is it not monilrous that this player here
But in a fisftlon, in a dream of paffion.
Could force his foul fo to his own conceit
That from her working, all his vifage warm'd.
Tears in his eyes, diftraftion in his afpeft,
A broken voice, and his whole fundtion fuiting
With forms to his conceit ? and all for nothing;
for Hecuba 1
What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba
yhat he Ihould weep for her ? Shakf. Harriet,
PEEVISH-
2&2 ELEMENTS O.F J.
; ' *^ PEEVISHNESS.
: . Pecviflinefs is an liabitual pron^nefs t»
anger on every flight occafion, and may
be tailed a lower degree of anger : it ex-
prefles itfelf therefore like anger but more
iiipderately, with half fentences and broken
ipeeclies uttered liaftily. The upper lip
is difdainfully drawn upj and the eyes are
caft obliquely upon the objed of difplea-
fure.
Trou What ait tliou angrj^ Pandarus ?
"Wihat with mc !
Pa^L Becaufe (he's a-kln to me, therefore,
ihe's not (o fair as Helen ; an fhe were not kin
to me, ihe would be as fair on Friday as He-
len is on Sunda3\ But what care I ? I care
not an flje were a black-amoor, 'tis all one to
me.
%oi. Say I fhe is not fair ?
Fan. I do not care whether yoy do or no.
She's ;a fool to (lay behind her father: let her
to the Greeks — and fo I'll tell her the., next
rime I fee her — for my part, I'll meddle nor
*L5*lce*io rt-iorc i'th'matter.
Treu
E L o e U ¥ I O N, 3^3
Tw, Pandarus--— . ^isnV/
Pan, Not!. -" •• -n?^r ,-• i-*:':- itjo ;5noai,>.
yVwV ■ Sweet Pandartis^i—'-- IM.^rtjlr.: r
Ptf«. Pray you (peak no more to 'me— I will
leave all as I found it— and there's an end.
■ ShakJ}^ Troil. and Crejf,
-rrri --r" ENVY.
' lEiivy is a mUture of Joy, for row, and
hatred \ it is a forrow arifing from the
happinefs of others enjoying a good which
we defife, and think we deferve, or a
pleafure we receive upon their lofing this
good for which we hated them. It is
nearly a-kin to malice, but much more
inodefate in its tones and geftures.
- — — afide the devil turn'd.
For envy, yet with jealous leer malign
Ey'd them afkance, and to himfelf thus plain'd.
Sight hateful, fight tormenting! thus thcfc
two
Imparadis'd in one another's arms.
The happier Eden fhall enjoy their fill
Pf blifs on blifs ; while I to hell am thrufl, .
Where
364 tLZMJEp T S. QFr
Where neither joy nor lQye,,.but fierce defj^e
Among our other torments not the.l^aft, -/^^
Still unfulfiU'd with.pa-iQ of longing pi r]"cs,?
i [ i \' ' Milton's Pumd-SLofl, Bo^k.m: v,, .§6zr
:^C M A-L\ I C E.
Malice is art.haVitual malevolence long
continued, and watching occarion tp.ex^rt
itfelf on the hated object. This hateful
difpofition fets the -.jaws, or gnaflies Jthe
teeth, fends blalling flafhea from the eyes,
Jlretches the mouth horizontally, clinches
|K)tli the fifts, and bends the ejbows in a
Ufaining manner to the body. The tone
of voice and expreflion are much the
fame as in anger, but not fo loud.
How like a fawning publican he looks ;
I hate him for he is a Chriflian,
But more for that in low fimplicit)''.
He lends out money gratis, and brings down
The rate of" ufance here with us in Venice.
if I can catch him once upon the hip,
I vvlll feed fat the^jincient grudge I bear l^Im,
He
E L O C U T I O H: 365^
He hateS ourfacred nation, and he rails "^^
Ev'n there where merchants moft do congregalsc
On me, my bargains, and my well-won thrift.
Which he calls intereft. Curfed be my" tribe
If- 1 forgive him. Shakjp, Merch, of Feu.
SUSPICION, JEALOUSY.
Fear of another's endeavouring to pre-,
vent our attainment of the good defired
raifes our fufpicion ; and fufpicion of his
having "obtained, or of being likely to
obtain it, raifes or conftitutes jealoufy.
Jealoufy between the fexes is a ferment
of love, hatred, hope, fear, (hame, an-
xiety, grief, pity, envy, pride, rage, cru-
elty, vengeance, madnefs, and every other
tormenting paffion which can agitate the
human mind. Therefore, to exprefs jea-
loufy well, one ought to know how to re-
prefent juftly all thefe paffions by turns,
and often feveral of them together. Jea-
loufy fliews itfelf by reftleflhefs, peeviih-
neft, thoughtfuinefs, anxiety, ami abfencc
of
266 ELEM|;NTS OF
of mind. Sometimes, it burfls out iiito
piteous complaint, and weeping ; thei) a
gleam of hope, that all is yet well, lights
up the countenance into a momentary
fmile. Immediately the face, clouded with
a general gloom, fhews the mind over-
call again with horrid fufpicions andiright-
ful imaginations. Thus the jealous man
is a prey to the moft tormenting feelings,
and is alternately tantalized by hope and
plunged into defpair. Shakfpeare, as if
unable to exprefs thefe feelings, makes
Othello cry out :
But oh ! what damned minutes tells he o'er
Who doats yet doubts, fufpeds yet ftrongly
loves I
Surprize in jealoujy commencmg.
Think, my lord ! — Oh heav'n he echoes me!
As if there were fome monfter in his thought
Too hideous to be fhown. — Thou dofl mean
fomething :
I heard thee fay but now —Thou lik'dft not that.
When
E L O C U T I O N. ^f^
When Caflio left my wife — What didfl not like?
And when I told thee he was of my counfeV
In my whole courfc of wooing, thou,a"y.'dfl:,
indeed!
And didft contraA and purfe thy brow together*
As if thou hadft Ihut up within thy brain.
Some horrible conceit : if thou do'ft love me,,
S1k>\v me tl>y thought. Sbak/p* Othello*
Sufpicion andjeahujy commencing,
Leo. Too hot, too hot :
To mingle friendfhip far, is mingling bloods.
I have a tremor cordis on me ; — n:iy heart
dances ;
But not for joy, — not joy. — Tiiis entertainment
May a free face put on ; derive a liberty
From heaftinefs, from bounty, fertile bofom.
And well become the agent : it may, I grant :
But to be padling palms, and pinching fingers.
As now they are ; and making pradis'd fmi^es.
As in a looking-glafs ; — and then to figh as
'twere
The mort o'the deer ; oh that is entertainment
My bofom likes not, nor my brows ;
Mamilius
Art thou my boy I — — - Ibid.. Hlnter's Tak^
368 ELEMENTS or
yealoufy increafmg*
Go to, go to.
How Ihe h<>lds up the neb, the bill to him.
And arms her with the boldnefs of a wife.
To her allowing hufband I Gone already ;
Inch-thick knee-deep o*er head and ears a forked
one.— —
Go, play, boy, play ; — thy mother plays, and I
Play too, but fo difgrac'd a part, whofe iflue.
Will hifs me to my grave ; contempt and cla-
mour
Will be my knell. — Go^ play, boy, play-
There have been.
Or I am much deceiv'd, cuckolds ere now.
And many a man there is ev'n at this prefcnt.
Now while I fpeak this, holds bis wife by the
arm.
That little thinks Ihe hath been falfe in his ab-
fence. Ibidem*
Attempt to hide jealoujy.
Her, Are you mov'd, my lord ?
Leo. No, in good earn eft.
How fomctimes nature will betray its folly.
Its
i: L o c tj T 1 o R 365
Its tendernefs ; and make itfelf a paftlme
To harder bofoms ! looking on the lines
Of my boy's face^ methoughts^ I did recoil
Twenty-ihree years; and fawmyfelf unbreech'd.
In my green velvet coat; my dagger muzzledj
Left it Ihould bit6 its mafter, and fo prove^
As ornament oft does^ too dangerous.—
How like, methought, I then was to this kernel.
This fquaih, this gentleman : — Mine honeft
frieridj
Will you take eggs for money ? tbidemt
yealoufy confirmed,
Doft think I am fo muddy^ fo unfettled^
To appoint myfelf in this vexation, fully
The purity and whitenefs of my bed
Which to preferve is lleep ; which being fpotted
Is goads, thorns, nettles, tails of wafps ?
Give fcandal to the blood o'th'prince my foil
Who 1 do think is mine, and love as mine>
Without ripe mo^viiig to't ? Would I do this ?
Could man fo blench ? Ibidem,
yealoiijy mixed 'with grief*
How bleft am I
In my jOft cenfure ! in my true opinion !—
Ym^lU B b Alack
^O D.LEME NT S Ol^r
Alack for IclTer knowledge ! — how accurs'ii ■
In being fo blefs^d ! There may be in the cup-
A fpider fteep^d, and one may drink,- depart '
Atid yet partake no venom, for his- knowledge
Is not infeded, but if one prefent
The abhorr'd ingredient to his eye, make known-
Hov/ he hath drunk, he cracks his gorge, his-
■,\- fides.
With violent hefts.— I have drunk, and feen-
the fpider ! Ibidem.
y'ealottjy mixed with rage and regret*
This fellow's of exceeding honefly.
And knows all qualities v/itha le-arned fpirit
Of human dealings : if I do prove her haggard
Though that her jeffes were my dear heart-
ftrings,
I'd whiille her off and let her down the wind
To prey at fortune. Haply, for I am black
And have not thofe foTt parts of converfation.
That chamberers have, or for I am declin'd. .
Into the vale of years—yet that's not much ;—
She's gone, 1 a;"n abus'd, and my rcHef
Muft be — to loath her. Oh the curfe of mar-
riage, ' -;_ '
■ ^ -^^Lat
ELOCUTION. 371
That we can call thefe delicate creatures our's
And not their appetites ! Ibid. Othdlo* ■■.
MODESTY, SUBMISSION.
Modefty is a diffidence of ourfelves, ac-*
companied with a delicacy in our fenfe of
whatever is mean, indecent, or difhonour-
able ; or a fear of doing thefe things, or
of having th6m imputed to us. Submif-
fion is an humble fenfe of our inferiority,
and a quiet furrender of our powers to a
fuperior. Modefty bends the body for-
ward, has a placid downcaft countenance,
levels the eyes to the breaft, if not to the
feet of the fuperior character : the voice is
low, the tone fubmiffive, and the words
few. Submiffion adds to thefe a lower
bending of the head, and a fpreading of
the arms and hands downwards towards
the perfon we fubmit to.
Modefiy on being appointed to c, high Jlation,
Now, good my lord.
Let there be fome more teft made of mV" metal,
B b 2 Before
372 ELEMENTS OF
Before fo noble, and fo great a figure
Be fta:mp'd upon it. Shakfp, Meaf, for Meafi
SubmiJJion on forgivenefs of crimen,
O noble fir!
Your over-kindnefs doth wring tears from mC'r
1 do embrace your offer, and difpofe
From henceforth of poor Claudio.
Ibid, Much Adoy &c^
s- n A U E.
Shstme, or a fenfe of appeafing to a dif-»
advantage before one's fellow-creatures,
turns away the face from the beholders ;
covers it with bktfhes, hangs tiie heady
cafts down the eyes, draws down and con-»
trads the eye-brows. It either ftrikes the
perfon dumb, or, if he attempts to fay any
thing in his own defence, caufes his tongue
to faulter, confounds his utterance, and
puts him upon making a thoufand gef-
tures and grimaces to keep himfelf in
countenance ; all which only heighten;
liis confufion and embarrairment.
Shame
« L -O C U T I O N. 573
Shame at being convfSied of a crime*
Oh my dread lord
3 ihould be guiltier than my guiltincfs.
To think I can be undifcernable
'When I perceive your grace like power divine.
Hath look*d upon my paper; then, good prince.
No longer feffion hold upon my fhame.
But let my trial be mine own confeffion :
Immediate fentence then, and fequent death
Is all the grace I beg. Shakfp. Meaf.forMeaf,
GRAVITY.
Gravity, or ferioufnefs, as when the
mind is fixed, or deliberating on fome im«
portant fubje£t, fmooths the countenance,
and gives it an air of melancholy, the
eyel^rows are lowered, the eyes caft down-
wards, the mouth almoft Ihut, and fome-
times a little contraded. The pofture of
the body and limbs is compofed, and with-
out much motion : the fpeech flow and
folemn, the tone without much variety.
B b 3 Grave
374 ELEMENTS OF •;
Grave deliberation on 'war and peace^
Fathers, we once again are met in council ;
Cafar's approach has fummon*d us together;^
And Rome attends her fate from our refolves.
How fhall we treat this bold afpiririg man ?
Succefs dill follows him, and backs his crimes;
t'harfalia gave him Rome, jEgypt has next
Receiv'd his yoke, and the whole Nile isC®far*s^
Why iliould I mention Juba's overthrow.
Or Scipio's death ? Numidia's burning fands
Still fmoke with blood : *Tis time we fhould
decree
What courfe to take; our foe advances on us,
And envies us even Lybia's fultry defarts.
Fathers, pronounce your thoughts i are they"
HiUfix'd
To hold it out and fight it to the lad ?
Or are your hearts fubdu'd at length, and,
wrought.
By time and ill fuccefs, to a fubmlflion ?
Sempronius fpeak. AddlforCs Cato,
EN Q.U I R Y.
Enquiry into fome difficult fubjed,
fixes the body nearly in one pollure, the
hea4
E 1. O C 0 T I 0 4jf 27 i
rbeiad fomewhat ftooping, tlie eyes poring,
jtnd the eye-brows contracted.
J, Enquiry mixed .wiifi fufpicion.
C'i •-?'.. .. . -' ... -
r Pray you, once more—
Is'hot your father grown incapable
'C^f reas'nable affairs ? is he not ftupid
With age and altering rheums ? Can he fpeak,
"■^' ; ■ hear^v.- '■• '• - ■■.'■ -^ ' ■ ■''"-. .'-' ■
ICnow. man from man; difpute his-d^n 6t?ate ?
^;i^ he not bed-rid, and again does nothing .
Sut what he did being childilh ?
.r - • . ShakL Winter*^ Tak^ :
I : , r A T T E N T 1 O N. , ; .
^.Attention to an efteemed or fuperloj
.charader has nearly the fame afpei^: as iri^
quiry, and requires filence ; the eyes oft
ten caft down upon the ground; fomer
times fixed upon the face of the fpeaker,
but not too familiarly.
TEACHING OR INSTRUCTING.
Teaching, explaining, or inculcating,
Requires a mild jferene air, fometimes ap-
B b 4 proaching
376 ELEMENTS OP
proaching to an authdritative gravity. The
features and geflure altering according to
the age or (dignity of the pupil, and im-
portance of the fubje£t inculcated. To
youth it fhould be mild, open, ferene, and
condefc^nding ; to equals and fuperiors,
modeft, and diffident ; but when the fubr
jed is of great dignity or importance, the
jiir and rnanner of conveying the inftruc-p
tion, ought to be firm and emphatical.
The eye fteady and open, the eye-brow a
little drawn down over it, but not fo much
as to look furly or dogmatical ; the pitch
of voice ought to be ftrong, fteady, and
clear, the articulation diftindt, the utter-
ance flow, and the manner approaching
to confidence.
InJiruSfion to modeft youth,
PoL Wherefore, gentle maiden,
Po you negled your gilly-flowejs and carna-
tions ?
JPer, I have heard it faid.
There
ELOCUTION. 3^
There is an art which in their piednefs fhares
With great creating nature,
Pol. Say there be,
Yet nature is made better by no mean,
But nature makes that mean ; fo over that art
Which you fay adds to nature, is an art
Which nature makes ; you fee, fweet maid, wp
marry
A gentler fcyon to the wildeft flock ;
And onake costeiye a bark of bafer I^ind
By bud of nobler race. This is an art
Which does mend nature, change it rather ; but
The art itfelf is nature. Shakfp. fVinter Tale^
JnJlruBion to an inferior^
Ans;elo-
There is a kind of charadler in thy life.
That to the obferver doth thy hiftory
Fully unfold : Thyfelf and thy belongings
Are not thine own fo proper, as to wafte
Thyfelf upon thy virtues, thern on thee.
Hcav*n doth with us as we with torches do.
Not light them for themfelves : for if our virtues
Did not go forth of us, 'twere all as if
We had them not. Spirits are not finely
touch'd
3^1^ E t JE M ^ N T S . OF
But to.:fir>e ifruea;.,:nat;u^e never lend.&; ., ,--..~T
The fmalleft fcruple^xif. her excellence ; ; -V/
But like a thrifty goddefs, Ihe determtoes; l
Herfelf the glor)j gf; a,(fj:editor,;. ji -ji:;:-:: -/f
Both^tlpnKs and ufe. ^,|5|.it; I do bend my fppech
To'dne thk can in my p^rt nie advertife.
Hold tfierefore, Aiigeio, ,, • : .•
Ih'bftr remove be thou at full ourfdl/^
Mortality and rpej;cy, in Vienna . -.. ^
Live in thy tongue ajid ^heart.: Old Elfcalus, ,
Thougti firfi: in queff/on, is tliy fecoiidary : ■>
Take thy comBiiiiiqn. il^id, Meaf. lot- I4ea£. ■
Arguing, require^ a cool, fedate, atten-^
live afped, and a clear, flow, and empha-
tical acc-ent, with much demonfcation h'p
the hand ; . it afTumes fomewhat of autho-'
rity^ as if fully convinced of the triith
of what it pleads for, and ibmetimes rifes
to great vehemence and energy of affer-
tiort ; the . voice clear, hold, diilindl, anc^
?irm, as in confidence. ^ ,
JRcafon-^
B t O C U T I O K 57g^
"Reafoning with deference to other s^i^ ^mvv
Ay, but yet ■ ' -^
Let us be keen, and rather cut a little.
Than fall, and bruife to -death. Alaisi this
gentleman t ' ^-r. " . • ,? ■"
Whom I would fave had a mofl noble father j*
Let but your honour know, whom I believe^ (^
To be mofl flrait in virtue, whether, ijj. ^^.^^ ;
The working of your own afleftlons, .. . r
Had time coher'd with place, or place with
Vrlihing, ..^., jrpvy
Or that the refolute adling of your blood.,,,,- t
Could have attain'd th' effedl of your own pujr-y
pofe,
"Whether you had not fome time In your life *
Err'd in this point you cenfure now in him, ^^
And puli'd the law upon you. ^t
Shakfp. Meaf.for Meafv-
■•fjonV ■■-.'''
Reafoning warmly, ". \'-"'"'.
By my white beard,
You offer him, if this be fo, a wrong.
Something unfilial : Reafon, my fon, '. *
»>hould choofe himfelf a wife; but as good fca*
^to EXEMENTSOF
The father (all whofe joy is nothing elfc
Sut feir poflcrity) -fhculd hold fome counfel
In fuch a bufinefs. Shakfp. JVmter*s T^le,
:vfjir£ument ajferting right to proper fy»
As I was banifh'd, I was baniih*d Herefordi
'But as I come, I come for Lancafter.
And, nable uncle, I befeeeh your grace,
Look on my wrongs with an indifferent eye :
You are my father, for, methinks, in you
I fee old Gaunt alive ; O, then, my father !
Will you permit that I ftiould ftand condemn'4
A wand'ring vagabond ; my rights and royalties
Pluck'd from my arms perforce, and given away
To upftart unthrifts ? Wherefore was I born ?
If that my coufin king be king of England,
It mud be granted, I am duke of Lancafter.
You have a fon, Aumerle, my noble kinfman ■;
Had you firft dy'd, and he been thus trod down, J
He fhould have found his uncle Gaunt a father.
To roufe his wrongs, and chafe them to the bay,
I ara deny'd to fue my livery here.
And yet my letter's-patents give and leave :
My father's goods are all diftrain'd and fold ;
4,nd thefc, and all are all amifs employed.
What
ELOCUTION. jS*!
What would you have me do ? I am a fubjefl*^
And challenge law : Attornies are deny'd me ;;
And therefore perfonaliy lay my claim
To my inheritance of free defcent. Rich, IT,
ADMONITION.
Admanition, afTumes- a grave air, bor-
dering on feverity ; the head is fometimes
Siaken at the perfon we admonifh, as if
we felt for the miferies he was likely to
bring upon himfelf ; the right hand is di-»
reded to the perfon fpoken to, and the
fore-finger projected from the reft, feems
to point out more particularly the danger
We give warning of; the voice aflumes a
low tone, bordering on a monotone, witji
a mixture of feverity and fympathy, of
pity and reproach-
Admonition to execute laws fir idtty.
'Tis one thing to be tempted, Efcalus,
Another thing to fall. I not deny
The jury paffing on the prifoner's life.
May on the fworn twelve have a thief or two.
Guiltier
^g2- ITLEMENTS OT"
Guiltier than him they try ; what's open made
To juflice, that it felzes on. What know. .
The laws that thieves do pafs on thieves P 'cia
r, • . pregnant,
The jewel that we, find, .we ftoop and tak'f,
Becaufe we fee it ; but what we do not fee.
We tread upon, and never think of it.
You may not fo extenuate his offence,
l^or I have had fuch faults ; but rather tell me
When I, that cenfure him, do fo offend,
XjU mine own judgment pattern out my death.
And nothing come in partial. He muft die.
Shakfp. Meaj: for Mcaf.
Admonition to beware of complaifance in
Jriendfilp,
■ Ever note, Lucilius,
When love begins to fickcn and deca}'.
It ufeth an enforced ceremony.
There are no tricks in plain and fimple faith :
But hollow men, like horfcs hot at hand.
Make gallant fhew, and promife of their mettle;
But when they fhould endure the bloody fpur.
They fall their crefls, and, like deceitful jades.
Sink in the trial. Comes his army on ?
•.. .fi:.^ Stakjp. Jid.C^zf.
>
^ L O C tJ t I O 1^.. 3^^
♦t'i,:::.!. c,/-* 3 :..■■>; ...:^...-. ..^ ■ ■ "'.".V
u^dmonifion to aSi jiifily*- , rf
• Remember Marchj the ides of March re*
member ! • -
Did not great Juiius bleed for juftice* fake ?
What villain touch'd his body, that did ftab
And not for juftice ? What fhaH one of us.
That ftruck the foremoft man of all this wdric^.
But for fupporting robbers ; ihall we now
Contaminate our fingers with bafe bribes ? ''
And fell the mighty fpace of our large honours^
For fo much trafh, as may be grafped thus ?—
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, '
Than fuch a Roman. • Ibidem,"
AUTHORITY.
AuthorFty opens the countenance, but
(draws down the eye-brows a little, fo as
to give the look an air of gravity.
, Authority forbidding combatants to fight.
Let them lay by their helmets and their
fpears,
^nd both return back to their chairs again :-?-
Withdraw with us, and let the trumpets found
While
384 BLEiMENTS OF
While w« return thefe dukes what wc decree*
Draw near ■-
And lift what with our council we have dOne.
For that our kingdom*s earth ftiould not be
foil'd
With that dear blodd which it hatli fofter'd ;
And for our eyes doth hate the dire afpedt
Of civil wounds, ploughed up with neighbour's
fwords,
Therefore we banifh you our territories 2
You, coufin Hereford, upon pain of death.
Till twice five fummers have enrich'd our fields^
Shall not regreet our fair dominions.
But tread the ftranger paths of banifhtnent.
Shakfpeares Richard IL
COMMANDING.
Commanding requires an air a little
more peremptory, with 'a look a little fe-
vere, or ftern. The hand is held out, and
moved towards the perfon to whom the
order is given with the palm upwards, and
fometimes it is accompanied by a nod of
the head to the perfon commanded. If the
com-
£,L O C U T I O Ni 385
command be abfolute, and to a perfon un-
willing to obey, the right hand is extend-
ed and projected forcibly towards the per-
fon commanded.
Commanding combatants to fight.
We were not born to fue but to cornmandj
Which (ince we cannot do to make you friends.
Be ready as your lives fliall anfwer it,
At Coventry, upon St. Lambert's day ;
There (hall your fwords and lances arbitrate-
The fwelllng difference of your fettled hate.
Since we cannot atoiie you, you fhall fee
Juftice decide the vii^ior's chivalry.
Lord Marflial command our officer's at arms,
Be ready to direct thefe home alarms.
Shakfp, Rich. It
FORBIDDING.
. Forbidding, draws the head backwards,
and pufhes the arm and hand forwards,
with the palm downwards, as if going
to lay it upon the perfon, and hold him
down immoveable, that he may not do
, Vol. II. Cc what
386 ELEMENTS OF
what is forbidden him ; the countenaiiwr
has the air of averfion, the voice is har=fli^
and the manner peremptory.
Forbidding to break orders.
On pain of death no perfon be fo bold
©r daring hardy as to touch the lifts.
Except the marihal and fuch officers
Appointed to direct thefe fair defigns.
Shakefp. Rich. IM
A F F I R M" I N G.
AfErming, with a judicial oath, is ex-
prefled by lifting the right hand and eyes-
towards heaven ; or if confcience is ap-
pealed to, by laying the right-hand open^
upon the breafl exadly upon the heart ;
the voice low and folemn, the words flow
and deliberate : but when the affirmation
is mixed v/ith rage or refentment, the voice
is more open and loud, the words quicker,,
and the countenance has all the confidence
of flr-ong and peremptory afTertion.
Affirm'
It L O C U T I O N» 38^
Affirming an accufation*
My lord Aumerle, I know your daring tongue
Scorns to uhfay what once it hath deliver*d :
In that dead time when Glofter's death was
plotted^
I heard you fay, — Is not my arm of length
^hat r each eth from the rejiful Englijh court,
j^s far as Calais to my uncle's head?
Among much other talk, that very time
I heard you fay, you rather had refufe
The offer of a hundred thoufand crowns
Than Bolingbroke return to England :
Adding withal, how blefl: this land would be,
In this your coufin's death.
If that thy valour fland ©n fympathies,
There is my gage, Aumerle, in gage to thine,
I heard thee fsy, and vauntingly thou fpak*il; ir.
That thou wert caufe of noble Glofter's death ;
If thou deny'ft it twenty-times, thou liefl: ;
And I will turn thy falfliood to thy heart
Where it was forged, with my rapier's point,
Shalfp. Rich. IL
C c 2 DENY-
^88 EL E MEN t S OF
DENYING.
Denying what is affirmed is but an af^
firmation of the contrary, and is expreffed
like affirmation. Denying a favour. See
Refusing.
Denying an accttfation.
If I in a<ft confent, or fin of thought.
Be guilty of the ftealing that fweet breath.
Which was embounded in that beauteous clay.
Let hell want pains eaough to torture me :
I left him wellv , Shakfp. King John,
DIFFERING.
Differing in fentiment may be expreffed
liearly as refufnig. See Refusing.
Differing about the conduSl of a war*
Bru. Well, to our work alive. What do*
you think
Of marching to Philippi prefently ?
Cdf. I do not think it good.
Bru. Your reafon ?
Caf, This it is ;
Tij
ELOCUTION, 389
*Tis better that the enemy feek us,
So fliall he wafte his means, weary his foldiers.
Doing himfelf offence ; whilfl: we lying ftil).
Are full of reft, defence, and nimblenefs.
Bru. Good reafons muft of force give place
to better.
The people 'twixt Phillppi and this ground.
Do ftand but in a forc'd a-fFedion :
For they have grudg'd us contribution.
The enemy marching along by them.
By them fhali make a fuller number up,
Cor^e on refrefh'd, new added, and encouraged;
From which advantage fhall we cut him off.
If at Philippi we do face him tijere,
Thefe people at our backs.
Caf. Hear me, good brother — -^
Bru. Under your pardon. — You mull note
befide.
That we have tried the utmoft of our friends,
Our legions are brimful), our caufe is ripe;
The enemy encreafeth every day.
We, at the height, are ready to decline.
There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
C c 3 Is
^90 ELEMENTS OF
Is bound in fhallows and in miferies.
On fuch a full fea are we now. afloat.
And we mull take the current when it ferves.
Or lofe our ventures. Shakf^, Jul, Caf.
AGREEING.
Agreeing in opinion, or being convinc-f
ed, is exprefled nearly as granting. See
Granting.
Agreeing in an enterprise,
Pojl. I embrace thefe conditions ; let us have
articles betwixt us, only thus far you fhall an-
fwer, if you make your addrelTes to her, and
give mc direcflly to underftand you have pre-
vailed, I am no farther your enemy, fhe is not
worth our debate. If fhe remain unfeduced,
you not making it appear othervvife ; for your
ill opinion, and the ailault you have made to
her thaility, you fliall anfvver me with your
fvvord.
Jac. Your hand, a covenant ; we will have
thefe things fct down by lawful counfcl, and
jlraightway for Kriiain, left the bargain fliou Id
catch cold and flarve. I will fetch my gold
snd have opr two wagers recorded. Stakf, Cymh,
J U D G^
ELOCUTION. 391
JUDGING.
Judging, demands a grave fleady look,
=with deep attention, the countenance alto-
gether clear from any appearance either
of difgtift or favour. The pronunciation
flow, diftindl, and emphatical, accompa-
nied w^ith little a^iion, and that very grave«
yudging according to JiriSl law.
Her, I befeech your grace that I may know.
The worfl that may befall me in this cafi^
If I refufe to wed Demetrius.
Thef, Either to die the death, or to abjure
For ever the fociety of men.
Therefore, fair Hermia, queftlon your defires.
Know of your youth, examine well your bloody
Whether not yielding to your father's choice.
You can endure the livery of a nun.
For aye to be in fhady cloifler mew'd.
To live a barren filler all your life.
Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruiticfs
moon.
Thrice bleffed they that mafter fo their blood,
Fo undergo fuch maiden pilgrimage !
C c 4 But
392 E L E M EN T S O F
But earthlier happy is the rofe diftill'd
Than that which withering on the virgin thorn.
Grows, lives, and dies in fingle bleflednefs.
Her, So will I grow, fo live, fo die, my lord.
Ere I will yield up my virginity
Unto his lordftiip, to whofe unwifli'd yoke
My foul confents not to give fovereignty.
The/. Take time to paufe, and by the next
new moon,
(The fealing day betwixt my love and m_e.
For evcrlafting bond of fellowlhip)
Upon that d^y either prepare to die
Fordifobedience to your father's will.
Or elfe to wed Dernetrius, as Ije would.
Or on Diana's alrar to proreft
For 9ye aufterity and fingle life.
Shakfpeare's Midf. Night^s Dream,
REPROVING.
Reproving, puts on aftern afpedl, rough-
ens the voice, and is accompanied with
geftures, not much different from thofe of
threatening, but not fo lively. It is like
Reproach, but without the fournefs and
ill-nature. See Rtr roach.
Hovy
ELOCUTION,
39J
How comes It Caffio you are thus forgot.
That you unlace your reputation thus.
And fpend your rich opinion for the name.
Of a night-brawler ? Give me anfwer to it.
Shakfpearis Othello^
A C Q_U I T T I N G.
Acquitting, is performed with a benevo-
lent tranquil countenance, and mild tone
of voice ; the right hand is open, and
waved gently towards the perfon acquitted
expreffing difmiflion. See Dismissing.
CONDEMNING.
Condemning, afiumes a fevere look, but
fometimes mixed with pity. The fen-
tence is exprefled either with feverity or
pity, according to the guilt of the perfou
condemned.
PaJJing fen fence ivhhjeijerity.
For this new-marry'd man, approaching here,
Whpfe fait imagination yet hath wrong'd
your well-defended honour; you muft pardon
him
For
394 E L Z M E N T S O F
For Mariana's fake ; but as a judge, "
Being doubly criminal, in violation
Of facred chaftiiy, and in protnife breach.
Thereon dependent for your brother's life.
The very mercy of the law cries out
Moft audible, even from his proper tongue.
An Angelo for Claudio; death for death.
Hafte flili pay-s hafte, and leilure anfwers lei-
fure ;
lAkQ dot<h quit like, and meafure flill for mea^
fure.
Then Angelo, thy faults are manifeft ;
Which, tho' thou vyould'fl deny 'em, deny thee
•'vantage.
We do condemn thee to the very block
Where Claudio ftoopM to death; and with like
hade,
Away with him,. 0Mkfp. Meaf. for Meaf.
'^ajfirig Sentence ivithpity and reluBance,
God quit you in his mercy \ Hear your fen^
tence :
You have confpir'd againft our royal perfon,
Join'd with an enemy, and from his coffers
Jleceiy'd the golden carneft of our death,
Wherciii
ELOCUTION. 39J
Wherein you would have fold your king to
flaughter,
His princes and his peers to fervitude,^
His fubjedls to oppreflion and contempt.
And his whole kingdom into defolation.
Touching our perfon, feek we no revenge ;
But we our kingdom's fafety muft fo tender,
"Whofe ruiii you three fought, that to her laws
We do deliver you. Go therefore hence
Poor miferable wretches, to your death.
The tafte whereof God of his mercy give
Yon patience to endure, and true repentance
Oi ail your dear offences. Bear them hence.
3U, Ben. F.
PARDONING.
Pardoning, differs from acquitting iii
this : the latter means clearing a perfon
after trial of guilt, whereas the former
fuppofes guilt, and fignifies merely deli-
vering the guilty perfon from punifhment.
Pardoning requires fome degree of feverity
of afped: and tone of voice, becaufe the
pardoned perfon is not au objed; of entire
pnmixed approbation.
59^ i: L EM EN T S OF
Pardoning a cruel profecution.
That thou may ft fee the difference of our
.fpirits,
I pardon thee thy life before thou aik it :
For half thy wealth, it is Anthonio*s ;
The other half comes to the general ftate
Which humblenefs may drive into a fine.
Shakfp. Merchant of Venice,
DISMISSING.
PifmilTing with approbation is done
with a kind afped and tone of voice : the
right hand open, the palm upwards, gent-
ly waved towards the perfon. DifmifTing
with (dlfpleafure, befides the look and tone
of vaice which fuits difpleafure, the hand
is haftily thrown out towards the perfon
difmiffed, the back part of the hand to-
wards him, and the countenance at ,the
fame time turned away from him,
D'ljmijfing 'with complaifance.
Chat, Then take my king's d.efiance from my
mouth.
]^ t O G U T I O hf. 3^
The fartheft limit of my embafly.
K* John. Bear mine to him, and (o depart in
in peace:
Be thou as lightning in the eyes of France,
For ere thou canft report I will be there.
The thunder of my cannon fhall be heard;
So hence f Be thou the trumpet of our wrath.
And fuUen prefage of your own decay.-—
An honorable condu(ft let him have ;—
Pembroke, look to*t : — farewel Chatillonf.
Shakfp. K, John,
REFUSING.
HefuUng, when accompanied with dif-
pleafure, is done nearly in the fame way
as difmifling with difpleafure. Without
difpleafure, it is done with a vifible relud-
ance, which occafions bringing out the
words flowly, with fuch a fhake of the
head and fhrug of the fhoulders, and he-
litation in the fpeech, as implies perplex-
ity between granting and refufing, as in
the following example.
Refof.
J9S EL E M £ K T S OF'
ftefujing to lend money.
They ahfwer in a joint and corporate voicej
That now they are at full, want treafure, cannot
Do what they would ; are forry — you are ho-
norable—
iut yet they could have wiih'd— they know
not^-*
Something hath been amifs— -a noble nature
May catch a wrench — :wou*d all were well— »
Vis pity J
And fo intending othef ferious matters,
After diftafteful looks and thefe hard fraflions
With certain. half-caps,.and cold-moving nods,
They froze me into filence.
Shahfp. Timon of Athens.
"Refufing iviih difpleafure.
iV^/. Moft high, moft mighty, and moH;
puilTant Caefar,
Metellus Cimber throws before thy feat
An humble heart.
Caf. I muft prevent thee, Cimber ;
'Thefe crouchings, and thcfe lowly courtefies
Might fire the blood of ordinary men.
And
E L O CUT I ^.m 299<
And turn pre-ordinance, and firfl: decree
Into th^ lane of children. Be not fondy
Tq think that Csfar bears fuch rebel bloocJ,
That will be thaw'd from the true quality
With that which melteth fools j I mean fweet
words, •
Low-crooked-curt'fies, and bafe f^ariiel fawn-
ingr" '■^"•'^•^ '^"^ -^ '■•-•"'^
Thy brother by decree isbani^ed j
If thou doft bend, and pray, and fawn for hinrj.
I fpurn thee like a cur out of my way.
Know, C^far doth not wrong, nor without
caufe
Will he be fatisfied. JMd. Jul. C^f,
GIVING, GRANTING,
When done with unreferved good-will^
k accompanied with a benevolent afped:,
and tone of voice ; the right hand open^
with the palm upwards, extending towards
the perfon we favour, as if delivering to
him what he afks ; the head at the fame
time inclining forwards, as indicating %
benevolent difpofition and entire confent.
Gh'
400 H L E M E N t S O I!*
Giving 4 daughter in marriage^
Frof, If I Jiave too feverely punifhed youj
Your compenfation makes amends j for I
Have given you here a thread of mine own life^
Or that for which I live, whom price again
I tender to thy hand i all thy vexations
M^ere but my trials of thy love, and thou
Haft ftrangcly ftood the teft. Here afore heav'tt
I ratify this my rich gift : Ferdinand
I)o not fmile at me that I boaft her off;
For thou wilt find (he will outftrip all praife,
And make it halt behind her.^
Per, I believe it
Ao-ainft an oracle*
Prof, Then as my gift and thine own adqui-
fition
Worthily purchasM., take my daughter.
Zbakfpaires Tempcjl.
GRATITUDE.
Gratitude, puts on an afpciSt full of com*
placency. If the objed; of it be a charac-
-ter greatly fuperior, it exprefles much
fubmiifion. The right liand open with
the
ELOCUTION. 401,
the fingers fpread, and pre fled upon the
breaft juft over the heart, exprelTes very
properly a fincere aiid hearty fenfibillty of
obHgation.
Gftitit tide for great benefits.
O great Sciolto ! O my more than father !
Let me not live, but at thy very name
My eager heart fprings up and leaps with joy.
When I forget tlie vaft, vaft debt I owe thee—
(Forget — but 'tis impoflible) then let me
Forget the ufe and privilege of reafon.
Be banifli'd from the commerce of mankind.
To wander in the defert among brutes^
To bear the various fury of the feafons.
The midnight cold, and noon-tide fcorching
hear.
To be the fcorn of earth, and curfe of heaven.
Rozve's Fair Penitent,
CURIOSITY.
Cutiolity opens the eyes and month,
lengthens the neck, bends the body for-
wards, and fixes it in one pofture, nearly
Vol. II, Dd as
402 ELEMENTS OF
as in admiration. When it fpeaks, the
voice, tone, and gefture, nearly as In-
quiry. See Inqjjiry,
Curiofity at firji feeing a Jim ohjeB,
Prof, The fringed curtains of thine eye ad-
vance.
And fay what thou feeft yond.
Mh\ What is't a fpirit ?
Lo how it looks about ! believe me, fir.
It carries a brave form. But 'tis a fpirit.
Prof. No, wench, it eats and lleeps, and
hath fuch fcnfes.
As we have, fuch.
Mir. I might call him
A thing divine, for nothing natural,
I ever faw fo noble.
PROMISING.
Promifing is exprefled by benevolent
looks, a foft but earneft voice, and fome-
times by inclining the head, and hands
open, with the palms upwards, towards
the perfon to whom the promife is made.
Sin-
ELOCUTION, 405
Sincerity in promifing is exprefled by lay-
ing the right hand gently on the left breaft.
Promlfe of profperous events*
I'll deliver al]>
And promife you calm feas, aufpicious gales,
And fail fo expeditious, it fliall catch
Your royal fleet far off. Shakf Tempejl*
VENERATION.
To parents, fuperiors, or perfons of
eminent virtue, is an humble and refped-
ful acknow^ledgment of their excellence,
and our own. inferiority. The head and
body is inclined a little forward, and the
hand, with the palm downward, juft raifed
as to meet the inclination of the body, and
then let fall again with apparent timidity
and diffidence ; the eye is fometimes lifted
up, and then immediately caft downward,
as if unworthy to behold the objed: be-
fore it J the eye-brows are drawn down ;
the features and the whole body and limbs,
D d 2 are
404 ELEMENTSOF
are all compofed to the mpft profound
gravity. When this rifes to adoration of
the Almighty Creator and Diredor of all
things, it is too facred to be imitated,
and feems to demand that humble annihi-
lation of ourfelves, which muft ever be
the confequence of a juft fenfe of the dU
vine Majefty, and our own unworthinefs.
RESPECT
Is but a lefTer degree of veneration, and
is nearly allied to niodefty.
DESIRE.
ExprefTes itfelf by bending the body
forwards, and ftretching the arms towards
the object, as to grafp it. The counte-
nance fmiling, but eager and wifhful ;
the eyes wide open, and eye-brows raifed ;
the mouth open ; the tone of voice fup-
pliant, but lively and chearful, unlefs there
be diftrefs as well as defire ; the expref-
fions fluent and copious j if no words are
iifed
ELOCUTION. 405
ufed, fighs inftead of them ; but this is
chiefly in diftrefs.
COMMENDATION.
Commendation is the expreflion of that
approbation we have for any objetfi in
which we find any congruity to our ideas
of excellence, natural, or moral, fo as to
communicate pleafure. As commenda-
tion generally fuppofes fuperiority in the
perfon conimending, it afTumes the afpe£t
of love, (but without defire and refped)
and exprefTes itfelf in a mild tone of voice,
with a fmall degree of confidence; the
arms are gently fpread, the hands open
with the palms upwards, direded towards
the perfon approved, and fometimes gently
lifted up and down as if pronouncing his
praife.
Commendation for obliging behaviour.
You have done our pleafures very much
grace, fair ladies;
Set a fair fafliion on our entertainment ;
Which was not half fo beautiful and kind;
D d 3 YouVc
4o6 ELEMENTS OF
YouVe added worth unto't, and lively luftre.
And entertain*d me with mine own device :
I am to thank you for it. ^imon of Athens,
Commendation for fidelity,
O good old man, how well in thee appears
The conftant fervice of the antique world.
When fervice fweat for duty not for meed ;
Thou art not for the falliion of thefe times.
Where none will fweat but for promotion.
And having that, do choak their fervice up.
Even with the having; It is not fo with thee.
As Tou hike It»
EXHORTING.
r" Exhorting, or encouraging, Is earnefl
perfuafion attended with confidence of
fuccefs. The voice, has the foftnefs of
love, intermixed with the firmnefs of cou-
rage ; the arms are fometimes fpread, with
the hands open, as Intreating, and fome-
times the right hand is lifted up, and ftruck
rapidly down as enforcing what we fay.
Exhort'
ELOCUTION. 407
Exhorting.
But wherefore do you droop ? why look you
fad ?
Be great in aft as you have been in thought;
Let not the world fee fear and fad diftruft.
Govern the motion of a kingly eye :
Be ftirring as the time ; be fire with fire ;
Threaten the threatener, and outface the brow
Of brag" ing horror : fo fhall inferior eyes.
That borrow their behaviours from the great.
Grow great by your example ; and put on
The dauntlefs fpirit of refolution ;
Show boldnefs and afpiring confidence :
What fhall they feek the lion in his den.
And fright him there, and make him tremble
there ? —
Oh let it not be faid ! — Forage and run.
To meet difpleafure farther from the doors,^
And grapple with him, ere he come fo nigh.
Shakfp. K, John.
COMPLAININa
Complaining, as when one is under
violent bodily pain, diftorts the features,
D d 4 almoft
4o8 E L E M 5: N T S O F
almoft clofes the eyes ; fometimes raifes
them wiftfully ; opens the mouth, gnaflies
the teeth, draws up the upper lip, draws
down the head upon the breaft, and con-
tracts the whole body. I'he arms are vio^
iently bent at the elbows, and the fills
flrongly clinched. The voice is uttered
in groans, lamentations, and fometimes
violent fcreams.
Complaining of extreme fain.
Search there, nay probe me, fearch my
wounded reuis —
Pull, draw it out —
Qh, I am IJiot I A forked burning arrow
Sticks crofs my Ihoulders : the fad venom flies
Like llght'ning through my fi^.^i^, my blood,
my marrow.
Ha ! what a change of torments I endure !
A bolt of ice runs hiffing through my bowels :
'Tis fure the arm of death ; give me a chair ;
Cover me for I freeze, and my teeth chatter.
And my knees knock together.
Lce'^s Alexander*
FA-
ELOCUTION. 409
FATIGUE.
Fatigue from hard labour, gives a ge-
neral languor to the body; the counte-
nance is dejeded, the arms hang lilllefs;
the body, if not fitting or lying along,
ftoops as in old age ; the legs, if walking,
are dragged heavily along, and feem, at
every ftep to bend under the weight of the
body. The voice is weak and hardly ar^
ticulate enough to be underllood.
Fatigue from travelling,
I fee a man's life is a tedious one :
I've tir'd myfelf, and for two nights together
Have made the ground my bed. I Ihould be
fick,
But that my refolution helps me. Milford,
When from the mountain top Pifanio Ihow'd
thee.
Thou waft within a ken. Oh me, I think
Foundations fly the wretched, fuch I mean
Where they ihould be reliev'd.
Shahfpeares Cymhllne,
Full.
410 E LEM EN T S OF
Feeblenefs from hunger,
'Adam. Dear mafter, I can go no farther;
Oh, I die for food [ here lie I down and mea-
fure out my grave. Farewel, kind mafter,
Duke* Welcome ; fet down your venerable
burden
And let him feed.
Orla* I thank you mod for him.
Adam, So had you need,
I fcarce can fpeak to thank you for myfelf.
Ihid. As Tou Like It.
SICKNESS.
Sicknefs, has infirmity or feeblenefs In
every motion, and utterance ; the eyes
dim and almofl clofed, the cheeks are pale
and hollow, the jaw falls, the head hangs
down as if too heavy to be fupported by
the neck ; the voice feeble, trembling,
and plaintive, the head fhaking, and the
whole body, as it were fmking under the
weight that opprefTes it.
ELOCUTION. 4-1
Sicknefs approaching to death.
And wherefore fliould this good news make
me fick ?
I Ihould rejoice now at this happy news.
And now my light fails, and my brain i« gid-
dy:-
0 me ! come near me, now I am much ill.
1 pray you take me up and bear me hence
Into fome other chamber, fofcly pray —
Let there be no noife made, my gentle friends,
Unlefs fome dull aad favourable hand
Will whifper mulic to my weary fpirit.
Shakfp. Hen. IF, 2d Part:
Trifling as this feledion of examples
of the paffions may appear, it coft no
fmall trouble to make it. The paffions
are every where to be found in fmall por-
tions, promifcuoufly mingled with each
other, but not fo eafily met with in ex-
amples of length, and where one paffion
only operates at a time ; fuch a feledtion,
however, feemed highly proper to facili-
tate
412 ELEMENTS OF
tate the ftudy of the paflions, as it is evi-
dent, that the expreflion of any pafTion
may be focHier gained by confining our
]^ra£tice for a coniiderable time to one paf-
lion only, than by paffing abruptly from
one to the other as they promifcuoufly oc-
cur. I ihall now give a few examples of
the latter kind, and would earneftly re-
commend it to every reader and fpeaker
to analyze his compofition, and carefully
to mark it with the feveral palTions, emo-
tions, and fentiments it contains, by which
he will diftinguifh and feparate what is
often mixed and confounded, and be
prompted to force and variery at almoft
every fentence.
, I am- well aware, that the paflions are
fometimes fo {lightly touched, and often
melt lb infenfibly into each other, as to
make it fomewhat difficult precifely to
mark their boundaries ; but this is no ar-
gument againft our marki-ng them where
they
ELOCUTION. 413
they are diftind and obvious ; nor againft
our fug^efting them to thofe who may
not be quite fo clear- fighted as ourfelves.
Indeed, the objedion to this practice feems
entirely founded on thefe two mifconcep-
tions, becaufe we cannot perfectly deli-
neate every fhade of found or paffion, we
ought not to attempt any approaches to
them ; and becaufe good readers and fpeak-
ers have no need of thefe alliftances,
therefore they are ufelefs to every one
elfe : but this reafoning, I am convinced,
is fo palpably wrong, as fufficiently to
eftablifh the contrary opinion, without any
other argument in its favour.
NARRATIVE.
Story of thejick atheift.
I Ihall conclude this paper with a ftory of
an atheiftical author, who, at a time when he
lay dangerouily fick, and had defired the af-
fiftance of a neighbouring curate, confefled to
him with great contrition (forrow)^ that nothing
fat
414 ELEMENTS OF
fat more heavy at his heart, than the fenfe of
his having feduced the age by his writings, and
that their evil influence was likely to continue
even after his death. The curate, upon far-
ther examination, finding the penitent (terror)
in the utmofl agonies of defpair (narrative) and
being himfelf a man of learning, told him (eX'
hortation and encouraging) that he hoped his cafe
was not fo terrible as he apprehended, fince he
found that he was fo very fenfible of his fault,
and fo fincerely repented of it. The penitent
Hill urged the evil tendency of his book to
fubvert all religion, (fear) and the little ground "
of hope there could be for one, whofe writings
would continue to do mifchief when his body
was laid in afhes. The curate, finding no
other way to comfort him, told him (encour^
aging) that he did well in being afflifted for
the evil defign with which he publifhed his
book, but that he ought to be very thankful
that there was no danger of its doing any hurt.
(contempt) that his caufe was fo very bad, and
his argumenrs fo weak, that he did not appre-
hend any ill efFcdts of it. In Ihort, that he
might reft fatisfied, his book could do no more
mif-
ELOCUTION. 415
mlfchief after his death, than it had done
whilft he was living. To which he added,
for his farther fatisfadtion, (indifference) that he
did not believe any,befides his particular friends
and acquaintance, had ever been at the pains of
reading it, or that any body after his death
would ever enquire after it. The dying man
had ftill fo much the frailty of an author in
him, as to be cut to the heart with thefe con-
folations ; and, without anfwering the good
man, afked his friends about him (with a pee-
viihnefs that is natural to a fick perfon) (peevijh-
nefi and refentment) where they had picked up
fuch a blockhead, and whether they thought
him a proper perfon to attend one in his con-
dition ? The curate finding that the author did
not expedt to be dealt with as a real and fincere
penitent, but as a penitent of importance, af-
ter a Ihort admonition, withdrew ; not queflion-
ing, but he Ihould be again fent for if the fick-
nefs grew defperate. The author, however,
recovered, and has fince written two or three
other tradts with the fame fpirit, and very
luckily for his poor foul with the fame fuccefs.
Spe5fator, N^igy.
OTHELLO'S
4!6 ELEMENT S OF
OTHELLO*s APOLOGY.
(Deference, fubmljUton,)
Moft potent, grave, and reverend figniors,
My very noble and approved good mailers :
That 1 have ta*en away this old man's daughter,
(Free acknowledgment, affirmation.)
It Is moft true ; true, I have married her ;
The very head and front of my offending
(Bluntnefs.)
Hath this extent ; no more. Rude am I in
my fpeech,
And little blefs'd with the foft phrafe of peace ;
For fince thefe arms of mine had feven years
pith.
Till now fome nine moons wafted, they have
ufed
Their deareft adtion in the tented field ;
And little of this great world can I fpeak.
More than pertains to feats of broils and battle;
And therefore little Ihall I grace my caufe.
In fpcaking for myfelf. Yet, by your patience,
I will a round unvarnifh'd tale deliver.
Of my whole courfe of love j what drugs, what
charms.
What
ELOCUTION. 417
What conjuration, and what mighty magic,
(For fuch proceeding I am charg'd withal,)
I won his daughter with.
(Vlain fimple narration.)
Her father lov'd me, oft invited me ;
Still que(lion*d me the Itory of my life,"
From year to year ; the battles, iieges, fortunes,
That I have paft.
I ran it through even from my boyilh days.
To th* very moment, that he bad me tell it :
(Concern mixed with fear.)
Wherein I fpoke of mod difaftrous chances.
Of moving accidents by flood and field ;
Of hair-breadth Tcapes i'th' imminent deadly
breach ;
Of being taken by the infolcnt foe.
And fold to flavery ; of my redemption thence.
And with it all my travel's hiHory :
( AJloniJhment J grand defcription.)
Wherein of antres vail and defarts idle.
Rough quarries, rocks and hills, whofe heads
touch heaven.
It was my hint to fpeak ; (Simple narration.) alj
thefe to hear
Would Defdemona ferioufly incline ;
Vol. II. E e But
4i8 ELEMENTS OF
But ftill the houfe-alfalrs would draw her thence^
Which ever as fhe could with hafle difpatch,
(Eagernefs and impatience.)
She'd come again, and with a greedy ear
Devour up my difcourfe : which I obferving.
Took once a pliant hour, and found good means
To draw from her a prayer of earneft heart.
That I would all my pilgrimage dilate.
Whereof by parcels Ihe had fomething heard^^
But not diflindively ; I did confent^
CTendernefs.)
And often did beguile her of her tears, ^
When I did fpeak of fome diflrefsful flroke
That my youth fuffered. My ftory being done.
She gave me for my pains a world of fighs :
She fwore In faith 'twas flrange, 'twas paffing
llrange,
'""Twas pitiful, 'twas wond'rous pitiful —
She wilh'd flie had not heard it, — (Dejire.) yet
Ihe wilh'd
That heaven had made her fuch a man — (Sint'
pie narration.) fhe thank'd me,
And bad me, if I had a friend that lov'd her,
•1 Ihould but teach him how to tell my flory,
(Coni
ELOCUTION, 419
And that would woo her. (Cmjidence.) On this
iiint I fpake.
She lov'd me for the dangers I had paft.
And I lov'd her, that fhe did pity them :
(Submijfion.)
This is the only witchcraft I have ufed,
CASSIUS's INVECTIVE AGAINST C^SAR.
Narrative'^ Contempt^ indignation,
Caf. I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus^
As well as I do know your outward favour.
Well, honour is the fubjedt of my flory.
(Difcontent.)
1 cannot tell what you and other men
Think of this life; but, for my fingle felf,
1 had as lief not be, as live to be
(Contempt.)
in awe of fuch a thing as I myfelf,
(Fride.)
I was born free as C^far ; fo were you :
We both have fed as well ; and we can both
Endure the winter's cold, as well as he.
(Narrative with conterdpt.)
For once, upon a raw and gufty day.
The troubled Tyber chafing with his fhores %
E e 2 C^faJ"
420 ELEMENTS Of
Ggefar faid to me, dar'fl thou, Caffius, novt'.
Leap in with me into this angry flood.
And fwim to yonder point ? — (Courage.) Upon
the word.
Accoutred as I was, I plunged in,
And bade him follow : fo, indeed, he did.
The torrent roar*d ; and we did buffet it
With lufty finews, throwing it afide.
And flemming it with hearts of controverfy ;
But ere we could arrive the point propos'd,
(Fear, dijirefs, intreaiy.)
Cjefar cry'd. Help me, Cafiius, or I fink!
(Boajtlng.)
I, as iEneas our great anceftor.
Did from the flames of Troy upon his flioulder
The old Anchifes bear, fo from the waves of
Tyber
Did I the tir'd Cafar : (JVonder,) And this man
Is now become a god ; (Contempt.) and Caf-
flus is
A wretched creature, and muft bend his body,
If Caefar carelcfsly but nod on him.
(Narrative with contempt.)
He had a fever when he was in Spain,
And, when the fit was on him, 1 did mark
(Sneer. )
ELOCUTION. 421
How he did fliake : (Sneer.) 'tis true, this god
did ihake :
His coward lips did from their colour fly ;
And that fame ej'e, whofe bend doth awe th^
world.
Did lofe his luftre : (Scorn.) 1 did hear him
groan :
Ay, and that tongue of his, that bade the Ro-
mans
Mark him, and write his fpeeches In their books,
(Feeblenefs andficknefs.)
Alas ! it cry'd. Give me fome drink, Titinius,
As a fick girl. (Wonder.) Ye gods, it doth
amaze me !
A man of fuch a feeble temper fhould.
So get the flare of the majeftic world.
And bear the palm alone. Shakfp, Jul. Caf,
HECTOR'S TAKING LEAVE OF
ANDROMACHE.
Plaintive tenderncfs.
Thus having fpoke, th' illullrious chief of
Troy,
Stretch'd forth his arms to clafp the lovely boy;
The babe clung crying to his nurfe's breaft,
Scar'd at the 'dazzling helm and nodding crefl :
E e 3 With
422 E L E M E N T S O F
With fecret pleafure each fond parent fmil'd.
And Hedtor hafled to relieve his child :
The glitt'ring terrors from his brows unbound^
And plac'd the beaming helmet on the ground;
(Paternal qffe5iion.)
Then kifs'd the child, and lifting high in air.
Thus to the gods preferr'd a father's prayer :
(Solemn petition,)
O thou whofe glory fills the etherlal throne,
And all ye deathlefs povv'rs, protedt my fon t
Grant him like me, to purchafe juft renown.
To guard the Trojans, to defend the crown ;
Againfl his country's foes the war to wage.
And rife the Hedtor of the future age :
So when triumphant, from fuccefsful toils
Of heroes llain, he bears the wreaking fpoilSp
(Admiration.)
Whole hods may hail him with defcrv'd ac-
claim.
And fay, this chief tranfcends his father's fame :
( Inexpreffible fatisf action. )
While pleas'dj amidft the general Ihouts cf
Troy,
His mcther's confcious heart o'erflows with joy :
(Fend-
ELOCUTION. 423
'(Fond'nefs.)
He fpoke : and fondly gazing on her charms,
Reftor'd t*he pleafing burden to her arms ;
Soft on her fragrant bread the babe fne laid,
Hufh'd to repofc, and with a fmile furvey'd i
(P'ily and tendernefs.)
The troubled pleafure, foon chadisM by fear.
She mingled with a fmile a tender tear;
The foften'd chief, with kind compafllon
view'd,
^nd dj-y'd the falling drops, and thus pur^
fu'd.—
(Encourage/nent.)
Andromache ! my foul's far better parr.
Why with untimely forrow heaves thy heart ?
No hoftile hand can antedate my doom,
^Till fate condemns me to the lilent tomb ;
(Regret,)
Fix'd is the term of all the race of earth.
And fuch the hard condition of our birth ;
No force can then relift, no flight can fave,
All link alike, the fearful, and the brave : — =
(Difmiffing,)
No more — but haften to thy talks at home ;
There guide the fpindle, and diredt the loom i
E e /J, (Courage.)
424 ELEMENTS OF
(Courage.)
Me, glory fummons to the martial fcene,
The field of combat is the fphere of men ;
Where heroes war, the foremoft place I claim,
The firft in danger, as the firft in fame.
CONCLUSION.
As an effay towards reducing to prac-
tice the fyftem of inflexions laid down in
the prefent work, I have attempted to
mark them as they occurred in Mrs.
Yates's pronunciation of the Monody in
Memory of Mr. Garrick. Not that by
thefe marks I would pretend to have con-
veyed that juftriefs of paufe, that melody
of voice, and that dignity of manner,
which fo remarkably dlftinguifh the pro-
nunciation of tills great avflrefs — Thefe
are among thofe perlfliable beauties fo
finely defcribed in the Monody ; but there
are beauties of an inferior kind which are
not quite fo incommunicable, and it is pre-
fumed that thofe who have attentively pe-
rufed
ELOCUTION. 425
Tufed what has ^been faid on the fubje£t in
the prefent work, will not think that no-
tation which conveys to us the inflexions
of a good fpeaker, though unaccompanied
by every other excellence, either an incu-
rious or a ufelefs difcovery.
N. B. In the notation, or marks an-
nexed to the Monody, I have made ufe of
the horizontal line, not as a mark of em-
phafis or long quantity, but to exprefs
that monotone, or famenefs of voice,
which good pronouncers of verfe fo often
introduce to the greateft advantage. This
monotone generally falls into a lower key,
and as it is naturally expreffive of awe,
amazement, and admiration, is exceedingly
fuitable to folem.n, grand, and magnificent
fubjedts. For a more particular account
of this Monotone, fee Vol, L p. 1 1 5,
. ^48. •• • -
MO-
( 426 )
MO N O D Y
2N MEMORY OF
G A R R I C g,
By R.B. SHERIDAN, Efq.
IF dying'^ excellence / deferves^ a tear^^.
If fond^ remembrance / flill^ is cherifhecl
here^',
Can\ we perfifl to bid your forrows flow^
For fabl'd^ fuff'rers, and delufiye/ woe?
or with quaint fimles difmlfs the plaintive ftrain.
Point the quick jeH", indulge^ the comic/yein
Ere yet to buried Rofcius^ we affign/—
One kind^ regret ^—one^ tributary ^ line^ !
His fame/ requires we adt atenderer^ part:/
His memory/ claims^ the tear/ you gave his
art\!
The general voice,/ the meed of mournfulN
verfe/.
The fplendid forrows/that adorned^ hishcarfe/g
The throng that mourn'd as their dead favour-
ite pafs'd/.
The
ELOCUTIONf.
, The grac'd\ refped'^ that claitn'd/ him to the
laft\,
While Shakfpear*s'^ image"^ from its hallow'd)
bafe/,
Seem^K to prefcribe^ the graved, and poinff^
the place'^, —
Nor thefe, — nor all the sad regrets that flow
From fond fidelity's domeilic^ woe,—
So much are Garrick's^ praife^ — fo much^ his
due/— -
As on this"*^ fpot^ — one"^ tear ^ beftowM by you.\
Amid^ the arts^ which feek^ ingenuous^
fame/.
Our/ toil attempts/ the mod precarious'^ claim!
To him/, whofe mimic pencil/ vvins^ the prize/.
Obedient'^ fame/immortal^ wreaths/ fupplies\:
Whate'cr of wonder Reynolds^ now may raife/,
Raphael/ ftill boafts/ cotemporary\ praife :
Each dazling light^, and gaudier/ bloom^ fub-
du'd/,
With undiminiih'd^ awe/ his^ works/ arc
view'd^ :
E'en beauty V portrait wears^ a fofter/prime^.
Touched/ by the tender^ hand/ of mellowing/
timeN,
The.
428 ELEMENTS OF
The patient"*^ fculptor/ owns^ an humbleA
part,
A rudcr^ toil^, and more' mechanic^ art ;
Content with flow and tlniorous ftr5ke to trace
The lingering^ line/, and mould^ the tardy^
grace'':
But once\ atchieved^. — tho' barbarous wreck
o'erthrow
The sacred fane, and lay its glories^ low^.
Yet fliall the fculptur'd^ ruin"^ rire"^ to day^,
Grac'd^ by defedt'', andworlhlp'd^ in decay^;
Th'enduring'^record^ bears '^ the artill's^ name/.
Demands^ his honors,/ and allerts/ his fameA
Superior^ hopes the poet's / bofoni fire,-—
O proud^ dillindlion/ of the facrcd^ lyrc^l—.
Wide/ as th'infpinng\ Phoebus^ darts^ his
ray/,
Diffufive^ fplendor/ gilds/ his votary's/ lay.N
Whether the long heroic woes rehearfe.
With epic grandeur, and the pomp^ of verfe/;
Or, fondly/ gay, with unambitious^ guile/
Attempt/ no^ prize/ but favouring/ beauty's/
fmile^ ;
Or bear dejedled to the lonely grove
The foft^ defpair/ of unpre vailing^ love/, —
What.
ELOCUTION. 429
Whate'er^ the theme.^ — thro* every age^ and
clime''
Congenial^ paffions '^ meet th' according rhyme^;
The pride/ of glory^ — Pity's^ figh^ iincere —
Youth's^ earliefl^ blufh^ — and beauty's^ vir-
gin / tear^.
Stich is their^ meed^ — their ^ honors thus ^
fecure^,
Whofe arts^ yield^ objeds/, and whofe works'''
endure^.
The a(ftor^ only/, ihrinks fromtime's/ award;
Feeble/ tradition^ is his/ memory's guard ;
By whofe faint breath/ his merits^ mufl abide/,
Unvouch'd^ by proof/ — to fubftance/ unal-
lied^!
Ev'n matchlefs/ Garrick's^ art to heav'!!*^ re-
fign'd/.
No fix'd^ effed/, no model/ leaves behind"*^!
The grace of adtion — the adapted mien
Faithful/ as nature^ to the varied^ fcene/;
Th'expreflive glance — whofe fubtle/comment^^
draws/
Entranc'd^ attention/, and a mute/ applaufe^;
Gefture that marks^, with force/ and feeling^
fraught /j
A fenfe\ in filcnce/, and a wilK in thought"^;
Har-
430 E L E M E N T S O ^
Harmonious fpeech'^, whofe piire-^and liquid^
tone \
t5ives verfe^ a mufic', fcarce confefs'd its own^ i
Aslight^fromgems^ aflumes/abrighter^ ray^
And cloath'd'^ with Orient^ hues/, tranfcends'^
the day^! —
iPaffion's wild break— and frown that awes the
fenfe^,
Arid every charm^/^f gentler^ eloquence ''—*
AlK perifhable^! — like th' ele6tric\ fire^
But ftiike^ the frame -^ — and- as"^ they ftrike-^
expire^ ;
inccnfe^' too pure^ a bodied^ flame to bear^.
It's fragrance^ cliarms^ the fenfe-^, and blends-^
with air^.
Where^ then /----while sQnk in cold decay he
lies.
And pale eclipfe/ for cver^ vcils^ thofe eyes/.'— ^
Where is the bleft/ memorial'^ that enfures/
Our Garrick's^ fame ? — whofe is the truft^?—
'tis yours^.
And o ! by every charm his art^ eflay'd/
To footh^ your cares/.' — by every/ griefs al-
lay'd/!
By the hufh'd wonder which his accents drew I
By his laft/ parting^ tear/, repaid/ by you^!
By
fe L b C U t 10 N. 4.31 ^
By alKthofe thoughts^ , whicli many a diftant^
night/,
Shall mark his memory/ with afad^ delight/! — •
Still in your heart's dear record bear^ his name/;
Cherifh the keen^ regret/ that lifts/ his fame^ ;
To you/ it is bequeath'd^, affeft/ the trufl^.
And to his worth/— -'tis all you can'/ — be jufl^.
What more is due/ from fandtifying^ time/;
To chearful wit/, and many/ a favour'd^
rhyme/.
O'er his grac'd^ urn/ fhall bloom/, a deathlefs^
wreath/,
Whofe blofTom'd^ fweets/ Ihall deck^ the"
mafk/ beneath^.
Forthefe/, — when Sculpture's votive toil^ fliall
rear/
The due memorial/ of a lofs^ fo dear/!— .
Olovlieft\ mourner/, gentle^ Mufe/! be thine/
The pleafing^ woe/ to guard/ the laurell'd/
Ihrine^.
As Fancy/, oft by Superflltion^ led/
To roam the manfions of the fainted^ dead/.
Has view'd/, by fhadowy Eve's unfaithful^
gloom/,
A weeping cherub/ on a martyr's^ tomb/—
So'
432 ELEMENTS, &c.
So thou-^, fweet^ Mufe/, hang o'er his/ fculp-
tur*d^ h'lQr^,
With patient^ woe^, that loves^ the lingering^
tear^ ;
^With thoughts / that mourn^— nor yet defire^
relief/.
With meek^ regret /, and fond ^enduring griefs ;
With looks/ that fpeak/ — he never^ Ihall re-
turn/ ! —
Chilling^ thy tender^ bofom/ clafp/ his urn^ ;
And with soft sighs difperfe/ th' irreverend,^
duft/.
Which time^ may ftrew/upon his facred/bufl^.
FINIS.
HETU.v.J
UNIVERSITY Ol- v-aM ,.
Los Angeles
This book is DUE on the last date stampec
«->\/
MAR 2 i 1979
. , P.!?r?.
y i385
T (1 c^i.;.,.. 1 I 1
L:^'^
3 1158 00078 1350
PN
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A A 000 032 135 6
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